Times Like This
by xStillxInxLovex
Summary: Everything begins to get monotonous when you’ve got a boyfriend that doesn’t seem interested anymore, yet keeps holding on, and a brother that cant get three seconds away from his boyfriend. What's a guy to do when he's in love and the worst is happening?
1. Tension

A/N: This is my new story, everyone! I've been working on this one for awhile, and I'm excited to release it. Forgive me if there are grammar mistakes, it's hard to revise a chapter as long as this! But anyway, I planned this story as three parts, but the second part is going to be really long and full of actioney stuff, so I might have to split that one in two parts (haha, and that will make the editing process easier for me). Anways, this is long, and I hope you like it!

Summary: Everything begins to get monotonous when you've got a boyfriend that doesn't seem interested anymore, yet keeps holding on, and a brother that can't get three seconds away from his horny boyfriend. What's a guy to do when he's in love, and the worst is happening? RiSo

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

**Part 1 of 3:**

**Tension**

Sora took another bite from the quickly dwindling bag of Doritos and unbuttoned his pants, feeling fatter by the second. He was currently working on his second bag within two hours, and the future of the victims in the horror movie he was watching looked as bleak as ever. Before he dug back into the unforgiving bag of chips, he checked the clock for about the third time in fifteen minutes. Riku, usually being home around 1 am, was later than usual tonight with the time being 2:30. Sora sighed yet again, and then went back to watching the movie just as someone's head was hacked off. The movie abruptly went into credits, and Sora grimaced.

"That was _the _lamest horror movie I have ever seen…" He mumbled this at his cat, Autumn, who was lying on the arm of the couch snoring. When he got no response from her, he looked at the bag of Doritos. After a long few minutes of deliberation, he decided it best to put the snack food away. If he was at the point where he had to unbutton his too-tight pants then there was obviously a problem. With a discontented sigh he dug around in the couch for the chip clip, folded the bag down, and then clipped it. He was about to walk the bag back over the pantry, but the door of the one-bedroom apartment opened in the squeaky way of someone who was attempting to sneak in.

It was Riku. He was opening the door slowly to try and keep it from making noise. Every time the door would make a loud squeak he would pause for a moment, and then continue slowly. He managed to open the door entirely and shift in before he finally looked up and realized that Sora was starting at him.

"Hi." He waved quickly then moved his hand to the back of his head to pull his fingers through his hair: the thing he did when he was nervous. "Yeah… thought you were asleep… so…"

Sora was quiet for a moment. "I thought I should stay up, and you know; see if you were okay… you were later than normal." Sora quickly added another comment, "N-Not that I really watch the clock all the time to see when you come in."

Riku shrugged while awkwardly avoiding Sora's eyes. "Well, I am a little late tonight. Er- this morning. I'm going to wash up and such, so why don't you just go to bed?" Riku said this last part with gentleness in his voice, and Sora responded with a nod and a yawn.

"Alright." The small brunette boy gathered up the bag of chips, and stowed it in the cupboard with three other bags of not yet opened Doritos. Sora yawned again, just realizing how tired he actually was. "G'night Riku."

"Night, Sora."

"I love you."

"Yeah." Riku didn't say the phrase back; he just took his coat off, hung it up, and then began to work on untying his shoes.

Sora was all too aware that Riku didn't say it back, but he'd given up on thinking too much about it. It'd been months since Riku had uttered the words 'I love you' to Sora, and even the last time he said them Sora didn't believe it. Without another word, Sora padded down the hallway and into the bedroom.

From the corner of his eye, Riku watched him go. He was completely aware of how he was hurting Sora, but don't get him wrong; he felt bad. He felt bad about everything. His friends think that he just completely lost interest in the boy, but that's not the case entirely. They keep telling him to just cut the ties, but for some reason Riku just… couldn't. He wasn't sure whether he really even loved Sora anymore, and the last thing he wanted to do was have a breakup.

They'd been together since High School, and those were the days. Their relationship was new, fun, and then love came into the picture. Everything got better, and it seemed like they were going to last forever. For their senior mock election, everyone had voted Sora and Riku 'most likely to get married.' That didn't sit too well with the few homophobes that didn't like the two boys, but they were mainly ignored.

But the point was that everything had been perfect until recently. Riku had begun to go partying with his friends more often, and he found himself less and less interested in Sora. He'd never cheat on him, no. That was something he'd never do, it would feel too much like following in his dad's footsteps. Not that he even really gave a lick about his father. He didn't hate him, he just didn't like him. There wasn't much to say about his dad other than the fact that he cheated on his mom a few times and he wasn't around often.

Riku snapped back to reality when Sora gently closed the bedroom door. The boy was the greatest boyfriend that anyone could ask for, and he proved that by still holding onto Riku when he was being like this.

Riku felt himself sweating in the heat of the apartment. He glanced at the thermostat by the door and turned it down about ten degrees. Sora always liked it warm in here- but Riku was more in tune with the cold. Sora liked summer, but Riku was always one for winter. In some ways they were just so different, but that kept everything interesting to them and opened them up to new things. Riku was perfectly content with that.

In essence, he couldn't even think of someone that would be better for him than Sora. But now- everything just didn't feel right. 'Only a rough patch,' is what Riku told himself. After all, after four years of being together without any problems, one was bound to surface eventually. Riku pushed back the bad feeling in his gut that came every time he thought about this particular situation, which was every day. Riku walked over to the little closet that held their washer and dryer, and dug through the dryer for some pajama pants. When he found what he was looking for he pulled his clothes off and put the others on.

The only thing really in his stomach right now was booze, and that wasn't quite fulfilling. It took a lot for Riku to get drunk, so he never came back home in an angry rampage. He wouldn't do that to Sora anyway.

He opened the pantry and cracked a smile when the main inhabitants of it were Blueberry Pop-tarts and Doritos. Those were the foods that Sora basically survived on, and how the kid wasn't fat was a mystery. Riku went more for a healthy diet, and he had to search the pantry thoroughly before he came upon a granola bar. It wasn't one of those S'mores granola bars, it was Natures Honey, or something like that. Since Riku paid close attention to his health, he'd opted for the thing that looked the best out of all the snack foods (although he had to admit that all the drinking he'd been doing lately contradicted how healthy he kept his diet at home).

Riku sighed and set himself down on the couch, feeling the warmth of where Sora had been minutes ago. Not finding what was currently on interesting, he idly flipped through the channels for something that just might catch his interest. Not surprisingly nothing seemed to be on. He was never one for television. He shoved the last bit of the granola bar into his mouth, and then tossed the wrapper on the coffee table. It was already littered with Pop-tart wrappers, so one small granola wrapper wouldn't make a difference. He made a mental note to ask Sora tomorrow if he could clean the coffee table.

Riku flipped the television off and threw the remote in with all of the wrappers. Riku winced at the annoying 'crunch' sound the impact made, and some of the wrappers fluttered to the floor. With a sigh he picked them all up one by one and brought them to the trash can. No sense in just making them sit there on the floor and waiting for Sora to clean them.

After a few minutes of cleaning up and feeding Autumn (she was starting to meow incessantly, did Sora forget to feed her again?), Riku shut off the lights in the small apartment and headed in the pitch-black to the bedroom that he and Sora had shared for almost a year now. The brunette was sleeping soundly, and Riku couldn't help but notice that Sora was adorable while sleeping- not to say that he wasn't cute all the time, though. Riku cracked a tiny smile and then climbed into the bed in a way that would shift the mattress as little as possible so he wouldn't wake up Sora. When he finally managed to get comfortable he pulled the covers over himself. His arms mechanically wound around the petite boy's waist, a movement that he was so accustomed to that he hadn't even thought about stopping. Sora cuddled in closer to him.

"Riku…" Sora murmured in his sleep.

Riku stuck his face into Sora's unruly brown hair. It smelled like the beach, like usual. "I'm here…" He whispered it so quietly that he could barely hear himself.

He wasn't sure if he loved Sora, but he couldn't leave him.

&!&!

Sora lounged on the couch lazily feeding himself and Autumn bits of Pop-tart. Riku was rushing around the house getting ready for work, nearly forgetting everything because he was running so late. He'd forgotten to set the alarm clock before he went to sleep, and now he was going to be about two hours late to arriving at his father's office. Riku wasn't one to normally care about running late for anything, but work was different because the couple needed the money. Riku's father was powerful here, but he never wanted to give his only son financial help. Even though Riku was the boss's son, the boss wouldn't hesitate to fire him if needed. Riku knew that the partying every night wasn't the best idea if he wanted to keep the job, but it was addicting to him, so he kept it up.

When Riku was sure that he had everything, he ran over to the door to put on his shoes. "Since I'm late I'm sure that dad will hold me over longer. What are you doing today?"

Sora shrugged. "Maybe going over to Roxas's. Haven't seen my little bro in like a week."

Riku hurriedly tied his shoes while talking. "Alright, have fun then."

Sora took another bite and nodded. "Will do."

"Great, bye." Riku flew out the door and slammed it shut behind him. Sora watched a few paint chips fly off from the impact and fall silently to the floor.

"Love you too…" He sighed and took another bite of Blueberry Pop-tart. Just when he began to wallow in his own misery Autumn stuck her claws into his arm and meowed. She wanted some more of the human food. He grumbled and picked another piece off for her. "You know what? I should stop feeding you this," he waved the frosted pastry in front of her face; "you're getting fat. You know that?"

She meowed in response.

He gave her one more small piece. "Maybe I should feed you that granola crap that Riku eats. Maybe you'll lose some of that poundage."

She sat up and gave him the cat equivalent of a glare. She walked away with as much attitude as a cat could possibly muster.

Sometimes it seemed like that cat could understand everything he was saying…

&!&!

Sora approached the door to his brother's apartment with Autumn struggling in his arms. She was never one for car rides, and she was sure to rocket around as soon as he set her down. But it didn't really matter; Roxas welcomed her into the house with open arms. For some reason he fancied her. While they waited, she clawed his arm, and Sora had to bite his lip to the point where he almost broke the skin to keep himself from cussing at the top of his lungs. When this girl was agitated, she was lethal.

Roxas opened the door with a toothbrush in his mouth and smiled goofily at them. "Come on in, we just woke up."

Sora rushed into the room and tossed the cat onto the floor. Just like he suspected, she shot down the hallway as soon as her feet made contact with carpet. "I swear she acts like a hyper puppy rather than a six-year-old cat. It's not natural. She was clawing me for Pop-tarts this morning!"

Roxas laughed heartily and rolled his eyes. "Lemme go give Axel a kick in the ass to get out of the bathroom so I can finish. I'll be back out in a sec."

Sora nodded at him and walked over to their couch and threw himself on it. Axel walked out of the bathroom rubbing his butt, and Sora wasn't sure whether it was because Roxas had indeed kicked him or they just had too much sex. Sora wasn't too interested in finding out in case it was the latter. It wasn't that sex creeped him out… it was just his little brother having sex that creeped him out. It was the older brother protectiveness kicking in. Technically he was only older by about three minutes, but still, that was older. And he held that above Roxas any chance he could.

Axel smirked at him and ruffled his hair. "Hey kid. How are you?"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Axel, I'm not a kid. Besides, I'm older than Roxas! You turned my damn brother into freakin' jailbait."

Roxas stuck his head around the corner and frowned at Sora. "Hey, you're only older by a few minutes and I am not jailbait! Do I look underage to you?"

Sora shrugged. "I don't know, if I answered that question it'd be a direct reflection of me, too… so I'll pass." Sora and Roxas looked a lot alike, but with a few major differences. One was obviously their hair. Sora's was chocolate-ey brunette colored, while Roxas was blonde. Sora's hair stuck out and up pretty much everywhere and in every direction, and Roxas's spikes were mostly aimed upward. And no, neither of the boys styled their hair. For some reason unbeknownst to them it was like that. Another difference that wasn't as easy to notice as the hair was their attitude. Sora was laid back, always cheerful, forgiving, and sometimes too nice for his own good. Roxas however, wasn't so forgiving, and he had a shorter fuse. But, both boys had a fierce loyalty to their friends and each other that would be near impossible to break. But, upon seeing the boys for the first time there's one thing that nobody ever fails to notice. Their eyes were almost inhuman with how sapphire they were, and they always had a spark of life in them. Riku and Axel would both easily admit that the eyes were the first thing that drew them to the twins.

When Autumn had decided to calm down, she jumped onto Sora's stomach, causing him to lose his breath for a moment. He sputtered while oxygen filled his lungs again, all the while Autumn was making herself comfortable on his stomach and purring. She tapped her paw on his arm, her way of ordering someone to pet her.

He glared pitifully at the cat, and Axel walked out of the room shaking his head and laughing. Autumn normally acted more like a small lap dog rather than a house cat that was knocking on twenty pounds; so naturally, she was entertaining for the person _not _getting clawed to death.

Roxas strode out of the hallway and into the living room, giving Axel a quick kiss. "Have fun working today. Don't punch anyone this time, okay? Who cares if they think they can do their job better than you. They can't." Roxas hugged Axel's waist (he was two heads shorter than Axel, it wasn't really possible to him to hug around Axel's neck without being on the tips of his toes) and Axel gave Roxas kiss on the top of the head.

"Yeah, I'll just remind them all of the time that Xigbar claimed he could weld better than me and ended up burning himself because he forgot gloves." Axel and Roxas laughed at the memory, and they released the embrace. "Anyway, I love you, see you later."

"Love you too, hun." Roxas replied, backing up from Axel a little.

Axel pulled on his shoes, not even bothering to tie them, and went out the door with a smile.

He welded at the local car garage, a quaint little place named Twilight Town Auto Repairs, obviously named for Twilight Town itself. He joked once about working as a Pyrotechnist, claiming that he would be perfect to manufacture some fireworks. Roxas had nearly fainted at the idea, and Sora couldn't help but laugh, with the image of Axel setting a whole laboratory on fire in his mind. With Axel, It would definitely be possible. So Axel went for the next best thing (in his mind, that is), wanting to work with fire somehow. No one really knew why he loved fire so much.

Roxas walked over and settled onto the end of the couch by Sora's feet. "So, how are things with Riku? Is he, uh, getting better?"

"You say that like he has a disease," Sora lifted his head up and commented with no hint of humor. He sighed, and dropped his head back into the couch. "I don't know what's going on with him! He won't say 'I love you' anymore, but for some reason I think that he dosen't like… want to leave me. It really seems like he wants to be there, but I'm just not too sure."

"Like I've said before, maybe something's just wrong right now with him, and no, I'm not talking like disease. I don't know, but Axel and I have fought before. All you can really do is stick around and wait for it to blow over"

"We've never fought before, that's the problem! What if just sticking around doesn't work? What if he's thinking about leaving me? I don't want to lose him…"

&!&!

"… but, I don't know how to handle this!" Riku jammed the papers into the paper feed on the copier, and pressed a button with more force than really necessary. "I- I want to be with him, but I don't know." Riku put his elbows on the copier and put his head in his hands. "Tidus, I'm stuck."

Tidus whistled. "Yeah you are. I mean, I don't really know about two dudes together, but I can offer advice from the straight POV."

"Tidus, the only thing different from me having a boyfriend and you having a girlfriend is that my boyfriend has a penis like me. Other than that, relationships are the same you bastard." Riku gave Tidus a glare that could wither grapes into raisins.

Tidus put his hands in the air as mock surrender. "I know, I know, just messing with you. As I can see… that's not the best idea."

"Damn straight."

"So, what I think you should do is go out clubbing, see what else is out there, and have a good time! Leave the relationship issues for Dr. DiZ, y'know?"

Riku glared at Tidus with ferocity as equal as before.

"You know… Dr. DiZ… the relationship expert?" Tidus shifted his body and eyes under Riku's look of malice.

"There are two things wrong with what you just said. One, we go clubbing almost every night with Wakka, so why the hell do you think that would make me feel so much better now? And two, Dr. DiZ doesn't know shit about relationships; he was divorced a few times himself." Riku went back to pressing buttons on the copier, knowing that his father wouldn't be too pleased if he got the documents too late and had to start his meeting without them.

Tidus crossed his arms and slumped back into his seat. "Fine, fine, I was just offering help. I can see how much I'm loved." He took a sip of his black coffee, and sighed in delight.

"And, I don't want to cheat on Sora. I don't even like leaving him alone so much! But yet, I can't really bring myself to stay home. Ugh, I just make everything awkward. I'm really happy that he has his brother, but maybe I'm just using Roxas as an excuse to say that me clubbing every night is okay…" Riku rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I should stop doing it anyway, I'm tired as hell."

"Yeah and you've been swearing a lot. That usually means that you're tired or pissed off, and I'm thinking you're both. I'm going to be honest here; I'm slightly scared of you at the moment."

Another glare was shot at Tidus, who sipped his coffee innocently.

Tidus held out the mug to Riku with a cocky smile on his face. "Coffee?"

Riku made a face, and was about to speak, but Wakka walked into the room. "Hurry up with those papers, ya? You're dad's getting frustrated; the meeting's starting in ten minutes."

Riku nodded at Wakka, who gave a short nod in return and left the room to attend to his other duties. Riku glanced at the copy machine; only twenty left to print.

Fifteen…

Ten…

"Sure you don't want coffee?"

Riku could have smacked the coffee addicted kid.

The copier beeped irritatingly, signifying that it was done. Riku gathered up the fifty papers that he had printed and left Tidus in the room without saying anything. He walked past the thirty or so cubicles, then right into his father's office.

Riku's father, Sephiroth, was on the phone. Riku waited impatiently and glanced around the room while his father talked. Many business degrees hung on the walls, along with Sephiroth with his arm around his late wife, Riku's mother.

Riku's mother died only a few years ago because of cancer, but Riku's missed her ever since. She was accepting of Riku and Sora, and while she was alive Sephiroth was too. Back then, Sephiroth was okay, minus the infidelities. Riku's mom always forgave Sephiroth, and Riku could never really understand why. But when she died… Sephiroth became cold and threw himself into his work. He started disapproving of Riku being gay and even made jabs at Sora. It hurt Riku when Sephiroth said those insults, but he always kept a blank face and eventually the insulting subsided. Riku remembered the thing that Sephiroth had said to him right after his mother's funeral, the insult to start it all: "If I can't even have a normal son then he might as well be with someone who's important and not worthless on this godforsaken planet." Riku fumed even thinking about it now, the way that Sephiroth insulted Sora. Riku was just glad that he'd stopped, or there would be an even bigger rift between them.

He tuned back into reality and realized that his father was wrapping up the phone call. "Okay, Monday, no later. Are we clear? Good." Sephiroth hung up the phone and greeted his only son with a smile. He held out his hand for the papers. "Good morning. I didn't see you bright and early when you should have been here. Too much partying with the boys?"

Riku nodded tersely. "Slept in, dad. Sorry, won't happen again." Riku handed him the papers and Sephiroth looked over them quickly.

"Be sure of that, you know I don't like it when you're late."

"I know."

"And if you're late too much, I'll be forced to fire you and I don't want to do that. I also wouldn't to be accused of nepotism, however, by keeping you around." Sephiroth straightened all the papers out and tucked them into a briefcase that was on his desk.

Riku nodded. "Yeah, I know. Got more papers to do." He strode out of the room quickly and heard his father call his name while walking away, but he ignored it. He didn't want to talk about work right now, which is surely what his dad wanted to do. He passed by the cubicles again and when he came to the copy room he walked in to find that Tidus was gone, and sighed. As annoying as Tidus was, he was at least company. Wakka was always serious on the job so there was no way Riku wanted to find him. Tidus hated this job, and didn't give too much a care. He only showed up because of a need for money, and Riku sympathized with him.

&!&!

"So then she was all like, 'I'm the great ninja Yuffie!'" Everyone bursted out laughing at Hayner's recollection, and Olette, his girlfriend, was close to tears.

Sora spoke between laughs. "Where was this?"

Olette recovered from laughing for a moment to speak. "TwilightMart. Don't get me wrong, I love Yuffie like she was my sister, but she scared the crap out of the worker there. After she did that she was dragged off by security. It was probably because she was climbing the shelves like a ladder while she was saying it." Olette began laughing again.

Sora believed it. Yuffie had a tendency to be… hyper, to say the least.

Hayner took over for her. "We had to finish her shopping for her, so she owes us a bit of money now."

Axel busted through the door and hesitated in his movement when he saw that there were two more people in the apartment. "Hi Hayner, Hi Olette. When did you two get here?" He kicked his shoes off and didn't even flinch when the bounced off the wall and came to a quick rest at his feet.

They both waved, but Hayner replied to Axel. "We came to hang and just tell Roxas a funny story…" He laughed a little, "but yeah. We have to go soon and get some money from Yuffie." He looked at Olette, "Assuming that she's out of the TwilightMart clink. Too bad Pence missed out on all this."

Olette giggled. "Yeah, he just _had _to go to college today."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't all you kiddos be going to college?"

Hayner, Olette, Sora, and Roxas all shook their heads in unison.

Axel chuckled and shook his head as well. "Lazy people."

Roxas stuck his tongue out at Axel. "You can't say that, you didn't go to college either!"

Sora's phone began to beep, and Roxas groaned in annoyance. "Really Sora, would it kill you to get a good ringtone? That beeping sounds like the noise a truck makes when it's backing up."

Sora rolled his eyes at. "No one ever calls me anyway, so what's the point?" He opened his phone and held it to his ear, somewhat pleasantly surprised that the caller was Riku. Riku never called him anymore…

"Riku?" He failed at trying to disguise the amount of surprise in his voice. "Is everything okay?"

"_Everything's fine. Why do you ask?"_

Sora felt slightly uncomfortable at his outburst. He didn't want to blurt out the fact that Riku never even called him anymore. He wanted Hayner and Olette to remain oblivious about the relationship problems between Riku and Sora. "Well… no reason. Anyway, what's up?"

"_I was just wondering if you wanted to go to dinner tonight." _

Sora was stunned silent for a moment.

"_If… if you don't want to that's fine. We just haven't in awhile."_

"No, no, no, no, I'd love to. I was just a little surprised that you asked. It _has _been awhile. But yeah, I'd love to. Where?" Sora smiled widely at Roxas, who gave his twin a curious glance.

"_Somewhere nice. I'll meet you at home, okay? I'm leaving work now."_

"Alright. I'll see you then." Sora slammed the phone shut and punched his fist in the air (causing Autumn to jump off his stomach in a mild pissed-off panic). "Yes!"

Roxas didn't drop the curious glance. "What's going on? I haven't seen you this excited for awhile."

"Riku asked me on a date!" Sora, Roxas and Axel celebrated with cheers, and Hayner and Olette looked at each other confusedly.

"Sora, you've been dating him for years now. Why is it _that _awesome that he's asked you on a date?" Hayner inquired.

Sora shook his head. "Well, he's just been working a lot lately. We, uh, haven't had much alone time."

Hayner nodded. "Yeah we're too lazy to go to college, and Olette and I only like work at a fast food joint, so we've got plenty of time to do _whatever _we want." He nudged Olette and wagged his eyebrows at her.

She giggled and smacked him playfully. "Hayner, don't be so horny. But, we've got to go, so," She waved at us, "see you all later!"

Everyone said their goodbyes, and Sora pulled himself off the couch. "I'm gunna kick it so I can be home early enough to change…" He looked down at his ensemble of really holey blue jeans and a worn out t-shirt and grimaced. "I seriously doubt that Riku's going to want to go to a nice place with me looking like _this…_"

After Axel was done giving Autumn a good scratch behind the ears, he picked her up and brought her over to Sora. "Have fun tonight, got it memorized? You call us if Riku does something stupid." He gave Sora a smile and put the cat in his arms.

The brunette smiled back. "Thanks Axel. I'm sure that tonight will go perfectly…"

&!&!

Sora and Riku arrived at the restaurant dressed in nice clothes, and both in anticipation for what was to come. Riku wanted desperately to figure out what he was feeling, and wanted to see if alone time with Sora would help with his bad feelings. Sora wanted to make Riku love him again; he wanted to have fun and remind Riku why they were together in the first place.

Both went in with high hopes, but both were also nervous. Riku checked in for their reservations, and they were soon seated.

Sora picked up the menu and smiled cheerfully while scanning the food.

"Why so smiley?" Riku couldn't help but ask about the big 'ol smile that was plastered on Sora's face.

Sora shrugged. "It's nothing… it's just that this is where we had our first date… and I'm glad to be out with you right now. We kinda need it."

Riku had chosen this place exactly because it was the place that they had their first date, hoping that it would add a little something extra to the evening, and he was right. And as for the other half of the sentence… Riku just hoped that everything would work out for his and Sora's sake. Riku couldn't help but feel that everything was riding on this date. Their relationship, Sora still holding on, everything. Riku smiled back so Sora didn't get worried from lack of reaction. "Yeah, I know. What do you want to order?"

Sora shut the menu. "The same thing that I had on our first date… the Fettuccini Alfredo. It's completely delicious here. What about you?"

"Mmm, 10 oz. steak. Like always." Riku glanced up at Sora from the menu and gave him a tiny smile.

Sora sighed happily, and their waiter came over. It was the same happy-go-lucky mohawked blonde that Sora had met via Axel. Sora perked up even more and greeted Demyx with a wave. "Hey, didn't know that you worked here!"

"Hey Sora! Yeah, I work here when I'm not playing at the local bar." Demyx laughed idly. "This is just a side job. Trust me; I'm not that big on feeding rich, snobby people." He ran his fingers through his hair and paused, eyes wide. "Oh- not saying that you two are rich and snobby… you're cool." He smiled nervously.

Sora laughed. Typical Demyx. "No offense taken, Demyx. I don't think you've met him, but this is my boyfriend, Riku."

Riku and Demyx shook hands, Demyx happily and Riku indifferently. Riku had heard some things about the blonde waiter from Sora, and from those inferences he'd come to the conclusion that Demyx seemed annoying.

"So how are Axel and Roxas? I've been so busy that I haven't seen them in awhile…" Demyx trailed off and recollected the last time that he, Roxas, and Axel had hung out together.

Riku inwardly groaned, and no one noticed how he was getting increasingly bothered by Demyx every second. Apparently his inferences about Demyx being annoying were right so far. All Riku wanted to do was start the dinner with his boyfriend, and this kid was killing everything by starting conversation with Sora.

"They're doing great as always. Axel's still welding and being a cocky ass, and Roxas is still as lazy as usual. Doesn't do anything except have sex with Axel and hang with me and his other friends." Sora laughed, and Demyx joined.

Riku's fuse was short today, and they were both pushing it.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. They've both never really done anything else. I-"

Riku finally snapped and put his hand up, interrupting Demyx mid-sentence. "We're ready to order, and if you don't mind we're on a date right now. Now, can you please take down what we want?" Riku used a little more malice in his comment then intended, and when he saw the equal looks of hurt on Sora and Demyx's faces, he felt a little bad. But not too bad, he wanted to have a nice date with Sora and Demyx was ruining it.

After Riku's statement, Demyx found himself a little flustered. "Um… okay, what do you all want to drink?" He scrambled for a pen and his pad of paper. He ended up dropping the pen, and after he came up from grabbing it off the ground his face was red with embarrassment. "Yeah. Drinks?"

Sora sounded slightly dejected. "Coke."

Riku was stoic. "Coffee. Black."

Demyx scribbled them down and left with a quick, fearful glance at Riku.

Sora set his menu down on the table and stared at it for a moment, thinking. "Did you really have to be that rude to him, Riku? I haven't seen him for awhile. We're friends."

Riku sighed, and figured that he wouldn't get anywhere good if he told Sora what he really thought about Demyx. "Sorry, I just want this night to be about us two." He reached over and grabbed Sora's hands. "Just us. I got a little irritated when you two started talking, I'll admit it."

Sora granted Riku with a small smile, and squeezed his hands. "It's fine. I-" He looked to the side and thought of something to say, "I'll just call and catch up with him over the phone. We don't need to do it here."

Riku took his hands from Sora, and placed both of their menus on the end of the table. "Thank you. Like I said, I want tonight to be about us."

Demyx came back with their drinks, and from the looks of it, he seemed to have collected pretty much all of his cool while fetching the refreshments. "One coke," he set down the fizzing brown pop in front of Sora, "and one black coffee." He set the coffee in front of Riku. "Ready to order?" Riku noticed that his perkiness seemed a little forced. Maybe he'd scared the boy a little too much?

Nah.

Sora and Riku both ordered their food, and the second Riku was done muttering the last bit Demyx was off like a rocket. Sora sighed and watched the blonde go. "Riku, you kinda scared him."

Riku resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes. "He'll be fine. Remember, this is about us, okay?"

Sora nodded. "I didn't forget."

They were both silent for a moment, just scanning the restaurant scene all around them.

"So what was the spontaneous dinner invitation for? You're usually out clubbing by now." Sora put his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands.

Riku shrugged and crossed his arms. "We haven't really had dinner together in awhile, and I figured that this would be the best place to do it. Why? Did you not want to? I'd understand if you, uh, wanted to spend more time with your brother. It's rare that there's a moment anymore that him and Axel aren't fucking."

Sora giggled. "No, I'm really happy that you wanted to do this. I miss spending time with just you, you know? You're always out with Tidus and Wakka." Sora wrinkled his nose. "And Autumn isn't that great as company. She's really whiny and she can be a serious brat sometimes. A couple days ago she ate a whole Pop-tart! I didn't know that cats had the stomach capacity to do that!"

Riku chuckled and shook his head. "She hardly acts like a cat. How did you choose her again?"

Sora's smile dropped. "Riku, you got me her when we moved in together. Don't you remember? She was a present." Sora stared hard at the silverette, barely believing that Riku didn't even remember his own gift.

Riku thought for a moment, and he vaguely recollected giving Sora a kitten full of spunk on the happy days when they decided to move in together. He sighed and uncrossed his arms, looking away from Sora in embarrassment. How in Kingdom Hearts could he have forgotten that? "Look, Sora, sorry. I was just having a brain fart moment. I remember, she was a spunky little kitten when I got her from the pet store, and I knew that you would love her because you two were kind of alike. Well, you were then, but not now. She's changed a bit." He smiled warmly, hoping that it would somewhat fix the screw up he just made.

Sora was a forgiving person, and Riku's statement worked in warming the boy again. "I was hoping that you didn't completely forget that… it was probably one of the best presents you've ever gotten for me. I love Autumn, but not as much as I love you." Sora hoped that this once Riku might just say the three words back, and even though it was doubtful he still couldn't help it when his hopes rose.

Riku smiled awkwardly. "Thanks, hun." He avoided Sora's eyes, knowing the look of hurt all too well that was more than likely to follow.

Before the situation could descend into an argument by being provoked by either of the two, Demyx arrived with their food. He set it down in front of them both and left with a (half) smile. "Enjoy!"

Riku rubbed his hands together and looked at the steak with hunger in his eyes. "Mm, that was fast. That's what I really love about this place. They get your food out quickly." Riku dug into his steak with grace similar to a gorilla's, and Sora snorted at how Riku ate his food with so little manners. To Sora, as weird as it was, that was part of Riku's charm.

They both enjoyed their food for a few long moments before Sora started another conversation, intentionally not saying anything about what happened before they had received their food. "So what is it about clubbing every night that's so fun? You're up late every single night, and you have to work every single morning. Is it really worth it?"

Riku swallowed his piece of steak wiped his face before speaking. "It's just fun because I like partying. I don't know, but all the people you meet, and the dancing. Tidus can't really get enough of it. He has a girlfriend, but yeah, he cheats on her." Riku shook his head and scoffed at Tidus's numerous infidelities.

Sora's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "H-he cheats?" Sora was scared. If it was easy for Riku to admit that Tidus did something so terrible… would Riku ever…?

"Yeah he does." Riku saw Sora's shocked eyes, and promptly reassured Sora that he wouldn't do anything of the sort. "Don't worry about me; I'm not as stupid as him. He's just a man-whore, and I like what I have." Riku smiled. He was telling the truth, and he hoped that the comment would reassure Sora.

Sora sniffed and took another small bite of his pasta. After it was swallowed, he replied. "If you like what you have so much, then why do you go out with them every night and leave me alone?"

Riku was cornered, and didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected such an attack from Sora, of all people.

Sora sighed sadly and apologized. "I'm sorry, that was mean. I just don't really understand. I don't ever see you anymore. You're either working or clubbing. When are you going to be home? I thought that us moving in together meant more time together, you know."

Riku sipped his coffee and contemplated what Sora just said. The brunette was right (like usual), and he wanted to say something to make him feel better. "Well, How about I stay home tonight? I'm not really in the mood to hang with Tidus and Wakka anyway. I see them every day. That sound good?"

Sora responded with a happy smile. "That sounds perfect! It's about time we had some time together." Sora dug happily into his Alfredo, and Riku into his steak.

They finished the night like that. Sora chatting happily (but endlessly) and Riku wondering if everything was going to go okay. He was happy that he decided to stay home with Sora tonight, but nonetheless there was a bad feeling in his gut. Would tonight really just drop all the recent feelings that he'd been having? Could one night really fix it all?

&!&!

They arrived back at the apartment and were immediately greeted by Autumn, who gave them a meow that could only be described as pissed off. She didn't like being home alone so much. Sora picked her up and snuggled her, even though she was struggling about as hard as possible. When she was pissed, there was _no way _a little snuggling was going to make her happy. She managed to squirm out of Sora's grip, and she rocketed into the kitchen.

Riku watched her go and chuckled lightly. "Maybe you should feed her. She's looking hungry."

"She's _always _hungry," Sora mumbled under his breath while heading toward the kitchen to feed her a can of cat food. She refused to eat dry cat food, so Sora was subject to feeding her the only kind of wet cat food she liked, and it was naturally the most expensive kind and was only sold at one place. He opened the can and dumped it in her bowl, and she immediately began to eat, ignoring Sora in a way that only a moody cat like her could manage. Riku began taking his shoes off and his jacket, and Sora did the same.

Sora shivered in the cold of the apartment and turned the thermostat up. Riku was comfortable in the cold, but he didn't say anything when Sora turned it back up about ten degrees.

Riku started at it for a moment and dreaded the heating bill. _We really need to figure something out. I can't stand it being that hot in here. I don't really feel like paying for that damn heating bill either. Does he have any idea how much that jacks up the bill?_ While Sora had his back turned, Riku quickly turned it down five degrees from where Sora had cranked it. They would just have to meet in the middle when it came to the temperature.

Sora sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him with a smile on his face. "Come sit, Riku!"

Riku complied, and took a seat next to Sora. Sora clicked on the TV and began sifting through the channels for something interesting. Sora tossed the remote onto the ground when he didn't see anything that he really wanted to watch. He looked at Riku. "TV's really crappy these days." Riku bent down and picked up the remote, flipping back a few channels.

"Looks like there's a Blitzball game on. I haven't seen one of these in awhile." Riku set the remote down on the coffee table, and became immersed into the game, cheering for his favorite team when they scored, and swearing profusely when something he didn't like happened.

Sora scooted closer to Riku and put his head on the taller man's shoulders. Riku glanced down at Sora with a smile and wrapped his arms around Sora's waist, then went back to watching the game.

"Riku?"

Riku looked at Sora. "Hm?"

Sora moved himself so he was straddling Riku, making the silverette's eyes go wide. "Sora, I-"

Sora stopped the other from talking by gently kissing him. Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's middle, and then Sora responded with deepening the kiss.

"Sora…" Again, Riku was forced to stop talking because Sora began kissing him fiercer, introducing tongue into the kiss now.

Riku wanted this to _stop. _It was going too far. He and Sora had been intimate a lot in their relationship, so it was nothing new to Riku, but it was something that wasn't right in his state of heart.

When Sora began to run his hands up Riku's shirt, that was when Riku acted. He didn't want to hurt Sora, but at the same time he didn't want to do something that his heart wasn't in. He gently pushed Sora off of him, and reeled back at the look of extreme shock and pain on Sora's face. "Sora, look. Not right now, okay?"

"What? You're kidding, right Riku?" Sora pushed himself a few inches away from Riku.

Riku shook his head. "Just not now, okay? I- I'm-"

Sora's beautiful eyes became ablaze with hostility toward Riku. "What's your deal Riku? You've been so different lately! We haven't done _anything _like this in months! No making out, no sex, just because you've been either been gone or 'didn't feel like it!' Explain that to me, Riku!"

Riku stood up, and not knowing how to react to Sora's hostility, he retaliated with his own. "Sora. Don't give me that. You have no clue _at all _what the hell is going on with me. Get a clue, then you can start your damn whining, because right now I'm _sick of it!" _

Sora froze, and his mouth dropped. He had never heard Riku talk to him like that, and it scared him. Riku had always been kind- sometimes moody, but that happens to everyone, but never downright _mean. _

Riku gave Sora one last hard look and retreated down the hallway, toward the bedroom.

Sora's eyes started to well up with tears, and he flinched when he heard the sound of the door slamming.

He couldn't place what he'd done wrong? He knew that he should be enraged at Riku for what he said, but the main thing he thought was: _What's wrong with him? This _isn't _Riku._

That night, Sora cried himself to sleep.

&!&!

Riku jammed the papers into the copier, and no matter how much Tidus rambled to him, the sounds of Sora crying wouldn't leave his head. Plus, the constant nagging from his conscience wasn't helping. Even while 'busy' at work, the main thing on the front of his mind was what he said to Sora. It was uncalled for, and more than anything he just wished that he could take it back. Seeing Sora sleeping on the couch that morning made him feel like he wanted to kick himself, but boy was he ever grateful that Sora didn't wake up while he was getting ready. He wasn't at all ready to deal with a confrontation, and right before work wasn't ideal for one.

_What the fuck was I thinking? I'm not myself lately; normally I'd jump at the thought of me and Sora kissing. Something must be completely wrong. _Riku pushed the 'copy' button with way more force than was necessary, and winced when it caused pain to shoot up his finger.

"RIKU!" Tidus practically chucked his coffee mug at Riku to get his attention.

"Fucking what, Tidus? Can you NOT see that I don't want to talk right now?" Riku ignored the people that were sticking their heads in the copy room to see what the yelling was about.

Tidus put his hands in the air for mock surrender. "What's even wrong with you? I know you've been havin' some problems lately, but damn, today you're like fucking Scrooge. Well, except it's not Christmas…"

Riku not-so-subtly rolled his eyes at Tidus and his comparison to Scrooge. There was _no_ way. "Sora and I got into a fight last night. One waaay worse than anything else we've gotten into." Riku lowered his eyes to the floor so Tidus couldn't see the pain on his face. "He- he cried himself to sleep on the couch. It was that bad."

Tidus leaned forward with interest. "Really? That sucks, man. This is the first big fight that you've gotten into with him in years, right?"

"Tidus, we've never had a fight like this. _Ever. _In all our years of dating." Riku glared at the copier, which was beginning to beep to tell him the papers were finished. He jammed a button and grabbed the papers. "I need to take this to my dad. Be back in a minute." He left the room with Tidus staring woefully at him.

When he walked into his father's office, Sephiroth was typing furiously into the computer. "Hello, son. I trust you've had a good morning?"

Riku snorted and set the papers down. "Not at all."

Sephiroth took his hands of the keyboard and folded them. "Oh? What's the matter, son? You can tell me, I might be able to heed some advice." Riku shook his head. His dad was the last person that he would go to for matters of the heart. "It's fine. Something that I need to sort out." Riku turned around and left the office deep in thought, and didn't hear his father call his name.

When Riku left the office, Sephiroth sighed. Two days now, he'd wanted to talk to his son, but he'd either been ignored when he called Riku, or, like today, Riku'd been too distracted. Wakka walked in the room, and Sephiroth smiled at him. The way to get Riku to listen was through his friends, of course.

"What is it, Wakka?"

"Your secretary told me to tell you something. She wanted me to tell you that your 5 o'clock cancelled, ya."

Wakka was about to leave the room, but Sephiroth spoke up. "Come sit, Wakka." He motioned to the single chair in front of the desk. Wakka obliged, slightly confused at the notion. He quickly wondered if he was lucky enough to be getting promoted.

"Wakka, my son hasn't been too happy today. He hasn't told me why. Do you know?" Sephiroth hoped that his employee could give him some insight.

"I didn't hear anything right from him, I just overheard some gossip from Fuu, ya."

"That's fine. I'd just like to know _something _of what happened, seeing as I can't get it straight from the horse's mouth." Sephiroth waited patiently for Wakka to start explaining.

Wakka thought for a moment. "Well, what Fuu told me was that Riku was talking to Tidus, and Riku was yelling, ya. Something about a fight between him and Sora, and Sora crying himself to sleep on the couch. From what I heard, it sounded awful. I'd hate to be him, ya."

Sephiroth contemplated this. "Interesting. I've been trying to talk to my son for a few days now, and he either just walks away too distracted or he just ignores me. I want him to come stay at my beach house on Destiny Islands with me for a few weeks, and I just can't get him to stay here for one moment to tell him this. I want to spend some quality time with him, since we haven't since his mother… passed… and I thought that this would be a good way."

Wakka's mouth practically watered at the thought. He loved beaches and warm weather himself, and Radiant Garden only had warm weather for a few months a year and no beaches. "He'd love that, ya. Don't know why he wouldn't. Do you just want me to tell him to come talk to you, or just tell him myself?"

Sephiroth smiled. "I'd like you to tell him, as it seems he won't listen to me too much at the moment. Do you think you can do that? Of course there's a place for you and Tidus to stay there, if you wish. It's big enough. And, there will be no work for you three if he decides to come. But mind you, you two will only be able to come if my son decides he wants to. What do you think?"

Wakka smiled and pulled on a strand of his hair. "I'll have lunch with him, ya. He couldn't say no to an offer like that." Wakka started to stand up, but stopped and sat back down. "But what about Sora? Even though they're fighting, he might still want him to be there as well, ya."

Sephiroth's nose wrinkled. He wasn't too fond of the boy… but if it was the only way that he'd get to see his son, then so be it. "If it's the only way to get Riku to agree, then that's fine. Mind you, see if he'll come by himself first. If he says no to that, then you can bring up the fact that Sora can come."

Wakka nodded, and stood up. "Will do, boss." He strolled out of the room, feeling like a million bucks. He couldn't wait for the sand, the sun, the beaches… it was all too surreal.

&!&!

Sora woke up to Autumn clawing his leg. He rubbed his eyes, and reached over to pet her. "Are you hungry girl? I'm guessing that R-" he then realized that he didn't really want to say _his _name, "he forgot to feed you."

She meowed in response.

He gave her a can of food, and sighed when he saw it was the next to last one. _Guess I'm going to have to go into town today to get her more… _He didn't really want to do anything, but he couldn't let his cat starve. After the fight with Riku the only thing that he wanted to do was curl up in their bed and have a good cry. Of course he couldn't, because Autumn was a pig.

He took a quick shower and his physical self felt better after the warm heat. He threw on some clothes, not even caring whether they matched or not. Roxas was the fashion freak, not him. He gathered up everything he needed to go out into the town (including a pack of Blueberry Pop-tarts to eat on the way) and soon was out the door and into the car.

For Sora, the drive into town was a thoughtful one. As he munched on the pop-tarts he thought about what happened, and promptly blushed when he thought about the way that he had thrown himself at Riku and gotten rejected. It wasn't like Riku to ever reject something like that- normally Riku'd be the one to start it.

Sora sighed. What had he done wrong?

He reached the little shop downtown Radiant Garden and parked. This was the only shop that sold the food that Autumn would eat, and considering that she ate a lot, he was here often. The owner knew him well.

He walked in and the door jingled at his arrival.

The owner smirked at him on arrival. "Ah, Sora. Good to see you again. Has the moody kitty eaten all her food again?"

Sora gave the man a slight nod. "Sadly. She's getting fatter too. Do you have any, like, diet kind of that food?"

The man shook his head. "No, we don't." He smirked, "But do you really think Autumn would eat diet food, anyway? From what you've told me she seems a little particular."

Sora groaned. He was right. "Alright, I'll just take fifty cans of the usual. That should last me about three days." The sad this was that fifty cans probably would _really _last only three days.

The owner laughed with good humor and counted out fifty cans into a box, since a bad would rip under the weight. "This cat's going to run you broke. Maybe you should force feed her cheaper food. You know, she either eats the cheap food or doesn't eat at all. That seems to work for most cats."

Sora snorted and dug out his wallet. "No, she'll either start a one-cat rebellion or raid the pantry and eat all my Blueberry Pop-tarts. Or both."

The owner typed the numbers into the register, and took Sora's money. "You're probably right. Have I ever told you that I'm scared to meet your cat?"

"Every time I come here."

The man smirked again. "Just making sure I get that message across. Have a great day."

"See you soon." Sora gathered up the box full of cans of cat food and brought it out to his car, setting it in the backseat. He shut the door, but hesitated on the way to the driver's seat. He didn't really want to go home after the hell that happened last night. Being in the room that it happened would just bring everything back, and Sora wanted to forget it. Or at least think of a solution before he broke down. And going back to the shared apartment would prompt a breakdown. Maybe a little walking around town and clearing his head would be good.

Sora nodded to himself. "That's exactly what I need. To walk around and think."

&!&!

Wakka waited for Riku to come out of the copy room to ambush him with a lunch invitation. He didn't want to tell Riku about Sephiroth's plan at work, because there was no way that he wanted to risk Riku saying no; Riku was always cranky at work. Wakka's reasoning was that maybe if he paid for a little food to get in Riku's belly, Riku might be a little happier and want to go.

When Riku walked out of the copy room, there was a huge frown on his face.

Wakka jumped in his path. "Riku, how's it going, ya? You wanna get some lunch? I know a great place!"

Riku started at him, wondering what could have taken over Wakka and made him so… perky. "Are you okay?"

Wakka nodded vigorously. "Peachy, ya, so what about lunch?"

Riku sighed, and figured that lunch was a good idea. It'd be better than going and talking to Sora, who even after working all day he had no idea what to say to. Even after _eight hours _of work, he still didn't have a clue how to confront his boyfriend. He'd never felt so pathetic in his life. "Yeah, sure. That's fine."

&!&!

Wakka and Riku had both decided to go to a little café in downtown Radiant Garden, and when they arrived it wasn't too busy. Wakka smiled widely, feeling that everything would work out grandly. Since Riku had decided to come with him, all he had to do was feed him and then he was golden. There was no way that Riku would say no to an invitation to Destiny Islands. After all, it was the most beautiful world out there.

They took a seat, and were promptly given coffee. Both of them sipped quietly, thinking about two different things. Wakka, of course about beaches, and Riku, about Sora.

When their simple meals had arrived, Wakka decided to pop his question. "I talked to your dad today. He was worried about you, ya."

Riku winced. "Worried about me, really? For what?" He knew that he really didn't need to ask what. He was completely spaced out at work, and he knew it.

"You weren't quite with it today, ya. He asked me what was wrong, and the only thing I had to supply for him was office gossip." Wakka was careful not to tread bad water, and due to Riku's flinch he knew that he was getting close. "But that's not why we're here. If you want to tell me about your personal life, then that's your choice, ya."

Riku was relieved that Wakka wasn't pressing him for answers. He wasn't really in the mood to give any.

"But anyway, your dad invited us, meaning you, me, and Tidus, out to his beach house on Destiny Islands. He said-"

"Wait, what?" Riku cut him off.

"He invited us?"

Riku was confused. "Why?"

"He said that he wanted some time with you, and let me and Tidus come along as a special bonus, ya."

Now Riku was dumbfounded. Since when had his dad ever been interested in 'time with him?' Was this a joke? "Was he serious?"

"Completely, ya. He even said no work for the few weeks we'd be there!"

"A few _weeks?"_

Wakka nodded, not liking Riku's tone of voice. He'd be damned if he was going to lose a free vacation. "It'd be like one endless party, ya! There's no way that you can say no!"

"There are exactly three reasons why I _can _say no to that. One: I hate warm weather. And Destiny Islands is warm all the time."

"But, won't it be better than working?"

"Two: My dad has never been interested in spending time with me. Why should I believe that he cares now?"

"He doesn't hate you Riku. Maybe he's finally realizing that he wants to get close to you, ya?"

"Three: I didn't hear you mention _anything _about Sora. I know my dad doesn't like him, so I'm guessing he didn't put Sora on the invitation list."

"That's unfair, ya! Your dad said that you could bring Sora if you wanted to!" Wakka crossed is arms.

Riku mirrored Wakka's action. "After I brought up the point that Sora was never mentioned? Wakka, I know how my dad works. He's not that unpredictable."

Wakka put his head in his hands. He had a sad feeling in the pit of his stomach that his vacation was lost. "So, you don't want to come?"

Riku thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. I'd want to talk to Sora first."

Wakka gave him a look of confusion. "Why? I thought you two were fighting, ya."

Riku gave the grape withering glare to Wakka. "I was sure that you weren't going to say anything about that."

Wakka knew that he had tread on the wrong path. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it, ya."

Riku nodded reluctantly. "It's fine." He paused for a moment. "I know you, and I know that you want to go to Destiny Islands really bad."

"More than anything, ya."

"I'm not going to say yes immediately though. I do want to talk to Sora first. Did my dad say anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, ya."

"Okay. Well, I'll talk to him about it and then call you. For now, let's just eat, okay? I need a break from drama."

Wakka nodded and picked up his fork. "So, did you see that Blitzball game that was on last night?"

&!&!

Sora meandered to the other side of town within an hour, and felt loads better. Walking around helped a lot, and now he could go home to Riku with a clear head. Then maybe they could solve everything, and the relationship would return back to normal. _Maybe _being the keyword. Who knew how Riku was feeling. _Riku _probably didn't know what Riku was feeling.

Sora's stomach growled, and he spotted a tiny little café across the street. He had eaten here with Riku once or twice, and it was a nice little hole-in-the-wall place. They had simple food like burgers and fries, which Sora was completely okay with. He quickly pulled out his wallet and glanced at the cash in there, deciding that he had enough money to eat a good meal. He opened the door and the little bell chimed. But before he was even through the doorway, he wanted to turn around and run.

Wakka and _Riku. Riku _and Wakka. He couldn't move. They both looked up, and Riku's froze as well when he saw Sora standing in the doorway.

Wakka, however, lit up. "Sora, come sit with us, ya!"

Sora contemplated running the other way, but after a quick deliberation decided that it wasn't a good idea to do so. He worked his way over to the table without even thinking, terrified of talking to Riku. He thought he was ready, but he now knew he was wrong.

Riku knew he wasn't ready, and he felt like his heart dropped through his ass.

Sora pulled up a chair to the table, and his stomach rumbled again when he looked at their food. "Uh, hey. Didn't expect to see you two here."

Wakka smiled widely. "We didn't either, ya, but I'm so glad that you showed up! Riku, this is perfect."

Riku shoved a dozen fries into his mouth. "Yahh, pehrphect." He swallowed the fries, and inwardly groaned. He didn't want to have this conversation with Sora now; he wanted to fix the first problem before he started another. But maybe with Wakka right there he would be able to keep his temper in check. "Wakka, take it away."

Wakka began to explain, and soon both he and Riku were telling Sora about it together. They told him what Sephiroth had said to Wakka, and what Riku had said when Wakka was telling him. After they were done explaining, they were left with a quiet Sora.

"So…" Wakka was impatient for reaction from Sora, "do you want to go?"

Sora ignored him and looked at Riku. "You really wanted to talk to me first before going? After everything that happened?"

Riku sighed, and figured that an apology now was as good a time as any. "Sora, last night was me being stupid. I'm sorry about that; it was really heartless of me. I didn't mean anything that I said or did."

Sora looked at Riku's plate of food and thought. He wanted to forgive Riku, but he had a sneaking suspicion that something like this would happen again, and currently wasn't sure if he could believe him. "Do you really mean that, Riku?"

Riku nodded.

"Then I think we should go. A vacation is what you need, and getting closer to your father will be a bonus as well. Who knows, maybe you'll come to really understand him." Sora looked into Riku's eyes, and they looked tired. A vacation was exactly what Riku needed.

"Alright. _We _need this vacation." He took another fry from his plate and popped it in his mouth. "Time to start planning."

Wakka pumped his fist in the air. "Score, ya! I'm calling Tidus!" Wakka pulled his jacket on and rocketed out of the café, people watching him with annoyed expressions the whole way.

Riku rolled his eyes. "Guess I'm paying."

Sora snickered, and stole a fry from Riku's plate.

&!&!

Riku had called his dad when they both arrived home, and learned a few details about the vacation. It was true that there wouldn't be work, but there would be important parties that Riku would have to attend. The beach house was currently housing three other brothers as well- theirs was getting renovated and Sephiroth graciously donated some of the rooms for them to stay in for the duration of the renovation. Riku forgot their names already, and didn't care because Sephiroth said that they would be out of everyone's hair.

On the way home from the café, Sora was adamant about Autumn coming too, so Riku also had to address that to his father, which he wasn't excited about doing. He knew that his dad didn't like pets. But, to Riku's complete amazement, Sephiroth allowed Autumn to come without putting up a fight about it. His only request was that she didn't pee on the carpet or wander about the whole house. Sora wasn't too happy about having to keep her in one room, but if that's what it took for her to come then he was fine.

They packed their belongings, and were ready to head to the Gummiport the next morning.

Riku had a sickly feeling of apprehension, and not just because he didn't like warm weather.

&!&!

A/N: I hope you guys liked it! If you did, review, alert, whatever, just know that it might take me a little while to get the two (maybe three) updates from here out because of the length. Please review!


	2. Invitation

_A/N: _Okay, I'm pretty sure that it's been about almost four months since I've updated this, and I'm sorry for that! But hey, I've got my reasons (EXCUSES) written on my profile. But it's not that big of a deal because it's not like this story is 20 chapters in. :D No, this is just chapter two. I'm gunna tell you now that this is just a filler as they fit into their first few days, put it does put a few things straight for the climax and the resolution.

This was supposed to be three parts long, but I didn't feel like editing 30 page chapters, so I split part two into half. So now, it goes Part 1, Tension, Part 2, Invitation, then Part 3 & 4. Which, I'm working on right after this, because I want to get this story finished.

Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Y'all should know by now that I don't own anything :D Except for Autumn. Haha, and I didn't even come up with her name. That was one of my amazing reviewers for 'Another Day.'

**Part 2 of 4: **

**Invitation**

"No, no, no! Put that over _there! _There. Perfect." Sephiroth examined the foyer of his beach house, making sure everything was just so for his son's visit. "Everyone! Gather round!" The beach house staff (mainly Sephiroth's many housekeepers) gathered around him, waiting for an announcement. "My son and three others are coming today, so I don't want to see a single dust bunny anywhere!" He clapped. "Now, go! Clean! That's what I'm paying you to do!"

Sephiroth shook his head at the commotion. The newer employees weren't used to his demanding ways, and even the veterans hadn't worked in awhile so they needed to tune themselves up. But it was no matter to him, just as long as everything was perfect for Riku coming over. Sephiroth wiped his finger along the banister, and grimaced when dust showed on his finger. He hadn't been to the house since last year… and it definitely showed. And the current three residents for the past few months wouldn't pay for service… and Sephiroth sincerely doubted they dusted anywhere.

But that wouldn't do for him.

"Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth turned at the voice, and gave a smile. "Kadaj, what can I do for you?"

Kadaj and his two brothers- Loz and Yazoo- had been staying at his beach house for a few months now, due to theirs getting remodeled. Sephiroth didn't have a problem with them staying. The three brothers weren't bad people, maybe went to a little too many parties (although Riku did too, so he wasn't going to get too elaborate on his disapproval). Either way, Sephiroth had gladly let them use the home that he wasn't using at the time.

Kadaj smiled at him. Sephiroth admired his confidence, just because some viewed him as a little too… daunting? Intimidating? "We're really thankful that we could stay here, and our house should be done within the next couple weeks, but…"

"But?"

"Loz, Yazoo, and I rented out a hotel suite. We didn't want to seem _really _rude and stay here while you had guests, and from what you were telling the housekeepers, they were important. But we're thankful for you letting us stay here. Definitely."

Sephiroth smirked. "Don't think that you three staying here is a problem. The only visitors coming are my son and his three friends. Certainly you could still live here until yours is done, we wouldn't mind at all."

Kadaj put his hands in the air and shook his head. "No way. I wouldn't be able to impose on you like that. Plus, we've already got our bags packed." Kadaj pointed up the stairs to where his two brothers were waiting with luggage.

Sephiroth sighed. "All right, if you must…"

Kadaj nodded, smiled, then raced up the stairs, going to help his brothers with the luggage.

&!&!

Sora raced off the Gummi Ship, chanting 'Let's go, let's go!' the whole way and leaving confused and angry people in his wake. Wakka was close behind him, savoring the warmth of the new world that they had landed on. Tidus stayed back with Riku, who was holding his and Sora's carry-on bags. Tidus and Riku took a seat, and Sora and Wakka took off to get everyone's luggage and to pick up Autumn (Riku was dreading her mood when she was back to them. If car rides weren't her thing, then did Sora _really _think she'd be peachy with a plane ride?).

A few minutes later, Wakka and Sora were huffing and puffing, trying to tote about six bags of luggage. There was Sora's one suitcase, Riku's suitcase, Tidus's fairly small suitcase, and Wakka's, which was rather large. Then there were 2 extras- an also fairly large suitcase full of cans of cat food (three guesses who for) and Wakka's bag of beach stuff. Yes- Wakka had a whole bag of _beach stuff. _

In a quick and confusing moment, all the luggage was transferred into Riku and Wakka's arms, them being the strongest. Sora was holding the cat, and Tidus was holding nothing. Sora gave Riku encouraging smiles every so often, knowing that his boyfriend was lugging about four or five suitcases- and that cat food wasn't light.

When they walked into the main lobby, the amount of people milling around stunned all three boys. They'd never seen a Gummi Port so big, so they all stopped and admired the impossibly high ceilings and the little trams driving around with luggage on cars behind.

After Riku got over his shock, he squinted around to look for his father- assuming that his father came to pick them up, that is- but what he found was disappointing to him. All he found was a man in uniform holding up a sign with his full name printed on it. The man looked like some sort of driver- and it pissed off Riku to the bone to see that his dad hadn't even bothered to come for them. Riku walked toward the man holding the sign, and his friends quickly followed (not-so-quickly in Wakka's case).

The man nodded at them when they were a few feet away, obviously recognizing Riku's hair that matched his father's perfectly. "Ahh, Riku. May I take some of your luggage?"

Riku handed the man the heavy cat food suitcase, and the driver staggered under its weight for a moment. Wakka also gave him both his and Tidus's carry-on bags, and for a second Riku thought the man was going to fall flat on his back. But he was stronger than he looked- he righted himself after a few moments, and led them to the vehicle they'd be riding in, grunting with effort the whole way.

Riku scowled at the transportation to the beach house. His dad- of course- had to pick something flashy.

When Sora saw it, he almost dropped Autumn in happiness. "A _limo? _Riku, your dad got us a _limo!" _He flew over toward it, and the driver, who had already put the bags into the trunk, opened the door for him. Riku and Wakka dropped their bags into the large trunk, and when they climbed into the sleek, black limo, Tidus and Sora were bouncing around with excitement, looking at all the gadgets.

"Oh my god, Tidus!" Sora cried, waving Tidus over to him, "There's a mini fridge in here! _And _it's got like, _everything _in it!" Tidus pulled open the glass fronted fridge without much gentleness, and they started digging through it. Tidus pulled out various kinds of soda and alcohol, and Sora pulled out some rum that was originated on Destiny Islands, took a drink, and his face twisted into disgust at the taste.

Riku couldn't help but laugh. Sora was never really one for alcohol.

When their interest was off the mini fridge, Sora and Tidus kept bouncing around the limo, looking at everything and fiddling with dials. Pretty soon, they came across the dial that opened the sunroof to the car.

And Sora did exactly what you would expect of him- he opened the sunroof all the way, and stuck his head out. Tidus joined him.

Autumn was crouched in the back of the limo by Wakka; she was hissing. Wakka tried to reach over and tried to comfort her, but she just started to hiss louder at him. Riku rolled his eyes at the cat, then looked out the window. The others seemed excited about this visit to go see his dad, but it wasn't a long shot to say that he was completely dreading it.

&!&!

Sephiroth drummed his fingers on the stair banister, impatiently waiting for his guests to arrive. He glanced at his watch. "They should've been here three minutes ago…" Sephiroth ran his fingers through his hair, and started drumming his fingers again.

"Pool?" Kadaj asked Loz, who was sitting next to him on the couch.

"Check." Loz answered.

"Jacuzzi tub?"

"Check."

"Breakfast?"

"Check."

Kadaj clapped his hands together. "Looks like we're good to go! Let's get our crap packed and hit the road before the guests of honor arrive." All three boys picked up their bags and lugged them toward the front door.

Sephiroth turned around. "You're leaving already?"

Yazoo nodded. "Thanks for letting us stay here, though." He picked up a duffel bag and heaved it over his shoulder, then pulled out the handle on his suitcase.

Sephiroth heard a beep from a device on the wall, and walked over to it. It said that a car was requesting permission to come through the gate. He gave one look to the screen below, and smiled when he saw the limo. They were finally here.

"Don't leave just yet, boys. My son's finally arrived." Sephiroth looked at them, and they slowly set their bags back down with a nod.

A minute later the door opened and Riku, Sora, Wakka, and Tidus walked through. Their chauffer and another guy in a black suit were attempting to carry everything. Autumn was cradled in Sora's arms, eyeing everything warily. Sora kissed the top of her head.

"Welcome to your home for a little while, Autumn…" He was mesmerized by the double staircase, and the grandness of the room.

Wakka whistled approvingly. "Pretty grand for a beach house, ya."

Sephiroth shrugged. "I strive for the best." He walked forward and gave Riku an awkward hug. "Good to see you out of the work place, son."

Riku nodded solemnly. "Thanks for the invite, dad."

Sephiroth swept an arm across the three brothers behind him. "These are the three that have been staying at my place while theirs is renovated. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo."

Riku gave them a nod. "Nice to meet you. These are my friends. Sora, Wakka, and Tidus. I'm Riku." He shook hands with Kadaj, who was smiling at Riku. Riku let go of his hand and cleared his throat, uncomfortable with Kadaj's look.

An awkward silence descended upon them, and Sephiroth broke it. "Alright, now that we've all met, you three," He gestured to the three brothers behind him, "can be on your way if you wish. And I'll have someone show you to your rooms."

Loz and Yazoo gathered up their bags, but Kadaj hesitated.

"You comin'?" Loz asked Kadaj.

Kadaj nodded. "Yeah, give me a second."

"LeRoy!" Sephiroth called loudly up the stairs. There was no immediate response, but a moment later a man in a black appeared at the top of the staircase, and descended, running his eyes over the guests. "Yes, Sephiroth?"

"Ah, LeRoy, there you are." Our guests are ready to be shown to their rooms.

LeRoy smiled- it was meant to be inviting, but the smile looked almost feral. "Well then, I'll show them right away. Come this way, please." He waved the four guests along, and the two men with their luggage.

As they climbed up the stairs, Tidus gaped at the chandelier. "What would happen if that thing decided to randomly fall?" He asked Riku.

Riku glanced at him. "Don't even think about it, Tidus. That thing's worth more than you are."

Tidus snorted. "That's not saying much, 'cuz I'm not worth all that much."

"True."

They turned left down a hallway, and LeRoy stopped, almost causing Sora and Autumn to run into him from behind. He held up his right hand and motioned toward a door. "Mr. Wakka's room."

Wakka threw the door open, and pumped a fist in the air. "Yeah, I got a beachside view!" He pried his two suitcases out of the hands of the chauffer, and skidded into his room.

LeRoy continued on. "And just so you all know, every single one of your rooms comes with a connecting bathroom. Sephiroth does hate sharing bathrooms." He stopped again, and motioned toward a door on his left. "Mr. Tidus's room." Tidus yanked his suitcase out of the butler's hand and went into his room, shooting a smile back at Sora and Riku.

LeRoy continued on again, and stopped when he reached another door on his right. "This room is for Mr. Sora. Your room comes with a slider door and a balcony entrance to the beach."

Riku put his hand up. "Wait, you're saying that we're not in the same room?"

LeRoy's mouth twitched into a smirk. "No, you and Mr. Sora are not. Sephiroth has requested that you stay in a room by him."

Riku became angry. This was not what he had planned for him and Sora. He wanted to be with Sora every second he could to repair the relationship.

Sora put a hand awkwardly on Riku's shoulder. "Hey. Don't worry about it, kay?" Sora looked at the chauffer, who had both his bags. He nodded for the man to follow him.

Riku looked back at LeRoy. "I don't care what dad wants, I'm rooming with Sora."

LeRoy shook his head. "I'm sorry. Sephiroth specifically asked that you bunked in his hallway, rather than the guest one. Follow me." LeRoy walked back the way they came, and Riku stared after him.

So far, this vacation wasn't working out so well.

&!&!

"So, wait, you're telling me that you're staying?" Sephiroth asked, confused. "Are your brothers staying also?"

Kadaj shook his head. "No, they aren't." He chuckled. "They're too excited about the hotel. But I hope you don't mind that I'd rather just be here."

Sephiroth was slightly dumbfounded, but nodded. "Yes, yes, I don't have a problem with that. I didn't put anyone else in your old room, so you can just stay there again."

Kadaj nodded. "Thank you."

"I'm headed off to an emergency meeting," Sephiroth told him. "So I'll be back later."

Kadaj nodded, and Sephiroth left. Kadaj rushed up the stairs with his suitcase to his room, brushing past Riku and LeRoy on the way.

&!&!

Sora stood in the middle of his room as the butler dropped off his suitcases and left. He had his own bathroom, with a giant tub (he wanted so badly to have one in his and Riku's apartment), and a slider with his own balcony, just like LeRoy had said.

He shut the bedroom door, and then set down Autumn. She rocketed around the room, and then came to a settle on top of the bed. She meowed.

"You like it, honey?" Sora cooed. "This is where we'll be for the next few weeks." _If everything goes well._ He was sad that he and Riku didn't share a room, but at the same time he was glad. Maybe the thing they needed to fix their relationship was space.

He opened a can of food for Autumn, who wolfed it down. He set up her litter box, and then settled on a squishy leather loveseat.

_That's exactly what we need. Space. _He smiled and sighed. _Soon, it's all going to be back to normal. Things couldn't possibly get worse._

&!&!

Riku threw his things into the dresser, not bothering to fold them or make them look somewhat neat. He mumbled incoherent things about his dad, not realizing there was someone else in the room.

Kadaj cleared his throat.

Riku looked up, startled. "Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn't see you there."

Kadaj shrugged. "Sorry."

Riku shifted his eyes awkwardly. "So, it was Kadaj, right?"

Kadaj smiled. "Yeah. Riku, Sephiroth's son, right?"

"Yeah. Weren't you and, uh, your brother's leaving or something." Riku stopped. "Well, not to sound rude, that's just what I figured was going on."

Kadaj shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. "Well, that's what was supposed to go down, but something came up, so they left, and I stayed." He smiled. "I like things here better than at a hotel with my brothers anyway. I'm so sick of them." He rolled his eyes.

Riku chuckled. "Well, nice to meet you, but I've got to go talk to someone."

"If it's your dad, then he left for an emergency meeting." Kadaj informed him.

Riku shook his head. "No, it's not him. My boyfriend, Sora." Riku slid past Kadaj out of the room.

"Boyfriend?"

&!&!

"_What's up Sora?" _Roxas answered.

Sora shifted himself so he was lying on his back on the sofa. "Hey brother."

"_Hi. You sound a little depressed."_

"Yeah, Riku and I got into a fight."

"_WHAT? What the hell did that motherfucker do?"_

"Roxas, if I'm going to tell you this, you need to calm the hell down."

"_Fine, Fine. Just tell me what he did."_

Sora sighed, and started telling Roxas about the fight. He told him about how he started to try to kiss Riku, and Riku told him to stop. He told him how Riku had lashed out at him, and how Riku had slammed the door. How he cried himself to sleep that night.

Roxas was silent for a moment.

"Roxas?"

"_Hold on." _Sora heard Roxas shuffle with the phone a bit. _"AXELLLLL!!!!!" _There was a muffled explanation and more fumbling with the phone.

Axel spoke. _"Alright, I'm coming over, and I'm going to beat his ass, he's gunna wish that he was never-"_

"Axel," Sora smiled at how protective his brother and Axel were. "I don't think that's possible."

"_What? He left? Oh that little motherfucker, I'll find him and-"_

"Axel! We're not home."

"_What do you mean you're not home?"_

"Riku's dad invited us out to Destiny Islands to stay in his beach house."

"_I hate you." _Was Axel's response.

Sora laughed. "Jealous?"

Axel scoffed. "_Extremely. Here, have shorty back." _Sora heard a thump, and Axel's muffled 'ow.'

"_You're at a beach house with him? After you guys got into that fight?" _Roxas asked.

"Yeah. I hope that a vacation can help us."

Roxas snorted. _"Good luck. But Sora, if he fucks up somehow, I'll go there myself and bring you back; because I know you'd never leave on your own."_

"He's not going to mess up, Roxas. Trust me. I know Riku, and I know that he's going to use this opportunity to make everything better." Sora paused. "I hope."

"_Like I said. If he fucks up, you're coming here, even if I have to stuff you into a suitcase."_

Sora's door opened, and Riku walked in. "Gotta go, Rox. Love ya!" Sora slammed his phone shut, and put it in his pocket. "Hey."

Riku took a seat on the bed. "Talking to Roxas?" He asked.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Axel's completely jealous because he wants to be here."

Riku chuckled. "That's just like him." Riku cleared his throat. "But listen, I wanted to talk to you about-"

"Sora, Riku!" Wakka busted in the room, and Autumn jumped about three feet in the air with a feral hiss. She skidded over to the couch and jumped on Sora's lap. Wakka ignored her. "We're going to play beach volleyball, ya! Go get changed!" He left the room.

Riku sighed. "I guess I'll just talk to you later. Might as well play some volleyball, eh?"

Sora smacked himself on the forehead. "Shoot!"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Sora sighed, and dropped his head onto Autumn. "I forgot a swimsuit."

"Just borrow one of Tidus's. I bet he has extras. Then sometime we can go shopping and get you one. Sound good?"

Sora smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Go get changed now, I'll meet you out there." Riku left the room with a nod, and Sora dumped Autumn on the floor. He walked out the door, making sure to shut it tightly behind him.

&!&!

All four boys met on the court, and decided on the teams of Sora and Riku vs. Wakka and Tidus. Sora was constantly adjusting the ill-fitting suit, irritated that he forgot his own. Tidus didn't have an extra, so he had to go to Wakka, who, he thought, had _too many. _He borrowed one from Wakka, but it was way too big. He'd pulled the drawstring as tight as it could go, and that had made the shorts bunch out and look even bigger than they were. Not to mention the print was so _tourist._

He scowled at the shorts. "I _hate _you."

Riku nudged Sora. "Ready?"

Sora nodded. "About as ready as I can be…"

With a battle cry, Wakka served the volleyball, and it rushed right toward Sora.

Sora squeaked. He got his arms above his head and ready to hit the ball. He tried to ignore the sunlight glinting in his eyes, before he could register what was going on, the ball conked him in the head, and he was on his butt in the sand.

Riku laughed and offered a hand to him. "That was graceful."

Sora blushed, and scowled at Wakka's victory dance. "That was only one point! Don't get so happy, Wakka!"

Wakka stuck his tongue out. "One- zero, ya!" He served again, and this time it flew at Riku.

Riku sent it back over the net with ease, and Tidus did the same. Sora grimaced when it came flying back at him again. He readied himself to hit it, and swung. The ball bounced off his forearms and to the side toward Riku. Riku let out his own battle cry and went after it, barely sending it back over the net, where it crashed into the dirt by Tidus.

Riku ran up and hugged Sora. "You hit it!"

Sora squeaked. "I know!"

Tidus scowled and sent the ball under the net toward Sora. "Your serve."

"One-one!" Sora called. He hit the ball to serve it, and it flew harmlessly into the net.

Riku caught the ball and tossed it back to Sora. "Try again." He said.

Sora tried again, and it hit the net.

And again.

And again.

Sora scowled and threw the ball into the dirt. "Okay, I suck at this." He stomped off the field and sat in the grass, arms crossed and pouting. "I don't wanna play anymore."

Riku sighed at Sora's poutiness. "Okay, okay…" He thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll just ask Kadaj if he wants to play…"

Riku took off into the house, and about five minutes later returned with a bathing suit clad Kadaj. Kadaj waved to everyone, and took his place on the court. "I'm good at this game, so beware." He told Wakka and Tidus.

Wakka smirked. "You won't be any better than me, pretty boy. Going to take off your sunglasses?"

Kadaj shook his head. "Of course not."

The first few minutes of the game went smoothly, with the ball just going back and forth. It was quickly apparent that Riku and Kadaj were gaining the lead, because the sun was glinting off Kadaj's sunglasses and into Wakka and Tidus's eyes.

Wakka, frustrated, spiked the ball. Riku and Kadaj were both into the game, and they both dove at the ball without even seeing the other.

Sora gasped along with Tidus and Wakka, watching the collision happen. Riku and Kadaj ended up hitting each other sidelong, with most of the impact on their heads. They both landed face-first into the dirt, groaning in pain. The volleyball bounced innocently off the court, and toward Sora.

Sora jumped up and scrambled toward them, along with Wakka. Tidus ended up getting scrambled into the net and was trying to fight his way out.

Riku rolled over, clutching his wrist. He let out a string of profanities, and attempted to sit up. "Shit, my wrist!"

Wakka helped Kadaj up, who seemed to not be hurt at all.

Kadaj dusted himself off. "Riku, are you okay?"

Sora knelt beside Riku, and pushed the silveret's hair from his face. "Riku! Riku, are you alright?"

Riku nodded and sat up. "Damn, Kadaj, you have a hard head."

Kadaj laughed. "I know, I know. Does your head kill as bad as mine?"

Riku nodded and winced. "Definitely." He inspected his wrist. "Damn, I think I sprained my wrist."

Sora inspected it. "Maybe. Let's go inside." Sora moved out of the way while Wakka helped up Riku.

"Sora!" Tidus called.

Sora looked over at him. "What, Tidus?" Sora laughed. "Tidus, your arm is stuck in the net."

Tidus scowled, and struggled with the net that had a firm grip on his arm. "Help?"

Sora helped Tidus out of the net and they followed after Riku and the others.

Sephiroth appeared from a slider door on the first floor, and called to Riku. "Riku, I need you in here right now!"

Riku groaned. "I'll catch up with all of you later." He gave Sora a smile, and then jogged painfully toward his dad. "What do you need, dad?"

"Come into my office a second, we need to talk business." Sephiroth motioned Riku into the room, and shut the door behind them.

Riku looked around the room, surprised by the small size of it. Compared to the rest of the house this place was actually somewhat _cozy, _with bookshelves, a mahogany desk, and a leather sofa.

Sephiroth took a seat on the desk, and Riku took one on the couch. "So, I told you that this vacation wasn't _all _vacation. We're having a company party here in about four days, and I need your help. We have to go out and plan everything, and you're going to help me with that. Okay?"

Riku raised an eyebrow at his dad. "Do I have a choice?"

"Do you want to keep your job?"

"Fine."

"Yes, and after we're done tomorrow, I'm taking you out on the speedboat. Just you and me."

"Sounds fun." Riku said sarcastically.

Sephiroth nodded. "Now go have fun. I'll see you tomorrow."

Riku stood up, but stopped himself from walking out. "Wait, dad. About the room arrangements… why aren't I sharing a room with Sora?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I've been with Sora for years, and have lived with him for awhile too? Why wouldn't we share a room?"

Sephiroth crossed his arms. "Well, Riku, this is _my _house, and I don't really like you two sharing a room. I thought you'd like being put into a room by me. Was I wrong?"

Riku closed his eyes, and ran through his options for a response. He didn't want to say the completely wrong thing and piss off his dad. "No dad, I appreciate it and everything, but I wanted to be in a room with Sora. We've been sleeping in the same room for more than a year now."

Sephiroth walked over to the door and opened it. "Well then, I don't think a few weeks should be that big of an issue. See you tomorrow." Sephiroth shut the door with finality, and Riku slumped back into the couch, fuming.

&!&!

Sora's door busted open and Sora groaned at the CRACK when it hit the wall. "Ahh what do you want?" He mumbled, not knowing who did it.

Tidus jumped on the bed. "I want to go shopping. Since you're my best friend, you're coming with."

Sora glanced at him. "Best friend? Tidus, I just met you…"

Tidus groaned. "Okay, fine. Wakka's getting a limo ride to 'the largest beach on Destiny Islands' or whatever, and Riku's gone party planning with his dad."

Sora looked at the clock. It was 9:30, not early enough to get annoyed with someone waking him up. "Okay, fine. But I need a little time to get dressed." Sora's stomach growled. "And I'm hungry."

"We'll go out to eat; I hear that Destiny Island burgers are the best."

&!&!

Tidus groaned happily. "These burgers are orgasmic…" Tidus took another man-sized bite of his burger.

Sora picked at his fries. "Yeah, it was okay, I guess."

Tidus scoffed. "You know that it was better than okay, you ate that thing in about three minutes." He pointed at Sora's plate. "See? All gone."

Sora smiled. "Okay, okay, it was delicious. What are we doing after this?" He asked.

"Shopping."

Sora hated the thought of going shopping, but he had to get a bathing suit. It's not like he was going to wear Wakka's again. Sora threw a fry into his mouth. _Maybe I'll even get something for Riku and Autumn, too, _he thought.

The day started looking a little bit brighter, but when they left, Sora was dragged into too many stores, and used as a dress up doll too many times, he found himself wanting to be away from Tidus more and more. Personality-wise, Tidus was great. When he was shopping, however, he was a force to be reckoned with.

&!&!

Kadaj whistled a tune down the hallway, enjoying having the big house to himself. He headed into the guest entertainment room, and started playing darts. He threw one, and it lodged itself into the wall. He cursed, and then threw another. It hit the wall again.

When he ran out of darts, he threw himself down into a recliner. He closed his eyes and settled into it.

He opened one eye when he heard a slight scratching noise. He stood up, confused, because he knew that Sephiroth didn't like pets, so he didn't have any. He followed the noise down the hall, and stopped right outside Sora's door, where he could hear the scratching on the other side.

Kadaj opened the door, and jumped in surprise when a cat hissed at him.

The cat didn't bolt out of the room, so he lightly went down on one knee and reached his hand out toward her. "Damn cat, you're fat, you know that?" When he got close, she hissed at him, and scooted back into the room.

He sighed and followed her, shutting the door behind him. "Here, kitty, kitty…"

He stuck his head under the bed, and saw her glowing eyes. "Come here, stupid cat…" He reached out toward her, and recoiled when she bit him.

He got up, sat on the bed, and looked out the window. "Whose room is this?" He wondered aloud. After a few minutes he stood up and walked out of the room, mind wandering to other things.

&!&!

Sora stumbled into his room, half-awake, when Tidus had finally decided to stop shopping. Sora didn't have any idea where Riku was, and he was honestly too tired to care. He opened a can of food for Autumn, and then collapsed on the bed, out in a second.

A few hours later, back from the boat ride, Riku came into Sora's room, finding the boy asleep. Riku didn't feel like following his father's wishes and stay in his own room; he decided that he was going to sleep with Sora that night. And there was nothing his dad could do about it.

&!&!

Neither of them heard the stomps down the hallway, and neither of them heard Sora's door creak open.

"Riku."

Riku's eyes jerked awake, knowing who the voice belonged to. He sat up, and saw his dad standing in the doorway, looking at Sora and Riku with disapproval and disgust.

"Breakfast's ready." He spat. Sephiroth walked away, not bothering to shut the door.

Riku looked down at Sora, who was sleeping peacefully. Riku was glad that Sora didn't witness his father coming in.

Riku sighed, and lay back down on the bed. His father wasn't going to look at him the same now.

&!&!

_A/N: _This didn't turn out _exactly _the way I wanted to, but this part was meant to me mainly uneventful, since I broke it into two parts. So please review, and I _promise _that it won't take me three months to get part three and part four out!


	3. Falling

_A/N: _Okay, this was out sooner than I thought it would be. But that's good! But, FYI, parts of this chapter are rushed, and you'll probably be able to pick those out. I blame that on my inability to concentrate completely when I'm writing longer-than-normal chapters. Haha, yes, 6,000 words is longer than normal for me. XD Enjoy!

**Part 3 of 4: **

**Falling**

After Sephiroth discovered Riku with Sora, the days went by quickly and awkwardly. Riku still had all the planning that he had to do with his father, and when they were together all talk was short, curt, and business-like. Riku would never admit it out loud, but he wanted his dad to talk to him. It made him laugh that once upon a time the only thing he preferred was his dad talking business- he detested any care for his personal life that his dad showed. And now he'd give anything to have that back, but his dad was genuinely pissed that Riku went into Sora's room against his wishes.

Sora and Riku barely saw each other. Sora was usually dragged off by either Tidus or Wakka against his wishes, and Riku was with his dad. When Riku went into Sora's room at night, Sora was always fast asleep- the product of a busy day.

Three days after Sephiroth walked in on them, Riku walked into Sora's room at night, and found Sora awake, watching TV.

Riku smiled happily. "Hey, Sor."

Sora smiled. "Riku! I feel like I haven't seen you in days."

"It's a lot different from the apartment, huh?"

Sora's smile faltered. "Not exactly. I never really saw you then either… I just thought…"

Riku's smile fell. "Thought what?"

"I just thought that since this was a vacation, we'd actually _see _each other."

Riku sat on the bed. "Well maybe we'd see each other more if you weren't always off with Wakka or Tidus."

Sora flipped channels on the TV- purposely not looking at Riku because he was being irritating. "Maybe all four of us could hang out if _you _weren't always stuck with your dad."

"It's not my fault I'm always with him! We've been planning the damn party that's going on tomorrow!" Riku scowled at Sora. He knew he was getting a little out of hand, but days of built up frustration could leak out at the worst times.

Sora flipped off the TV. "Why are you snapping at me about that? I didn't ask for a stupid company party!"

Riku got off the bed. "Well neither did I! But I can't just get dragged around doing whatever the hell I want on this vacation because I have to fucking _work!" _

Sora took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. "Riku stop yelling at me." He hoped that Riku would take the hint and calm down. Something told him that that wasn't likely.

Riku narrowed his eyes; he didn't respond for a moment. "Sora, I came to you because I wanted a break from everything these past few days. When I came here, I was just hoping for some peace and quiet. And when I saw that you were actually _awake _today, my hopes were high." Riku shook his head. "Maybe this is why everything is so shitty lately. Every time I see you, you pick a fucking fight with me." Riku turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Sora dumbfounded.

A few seconds later after Riku left, Kadaj poked his head into the room. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear the fight…"

Sora looked at the wall. "Sorry you had to hear that."

Kadaj walked into the room. "Do you mind if I say something?"

Sora shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Riku's been under a ton of stress from his dad- I'm positive he wasn't lying when he said he was coming to you to relax, and have a few moments away. If you loved him, why would you fight with him?"

Sora's mouth opened, and then he shut it again. "I didn't pick that fight, he did," Sora attempted to defend himself, "and you don't know anything about our relationship."

Kadaj smirked. "But I'm pretty damn sure that I know more about _relationships _in general than you do. And you're ripping everything you and Riku have apart piece by piece." Kadaj walked out of the room smugly, leaving Sora watching where he left.

Sora let out a deep breath. _That's not true._

_Is it?_

&!&!

Riku settled into the hot tub, letting the hot water unknot his back and warm up his body pleasantly.

"Want company?"

Riku opened an eye, and saw Kadaj standing there, already wearing a bathing suit. "Sure, if you can handle my shitty mood."

Kadaj shrugged. "It happens to the best of us." Kadaj settled into the tub with a small moan of pleasure. "I forgot how nice hot tubs were…"

Riku chuckled. "No kidding. At least you always have one available, I live in a city where most of the year it's cold and there's _no _hot tubs." Riku slouched down so the waterline was up to his neck. "I think I might just invest in a hot tub when I get home and put it in my living room."

Kadaj laughed. "I do have one in my living room. It's convenient, but I haven't been home for weeks because of the remodeling."

"Lucky bastard…" Riku muttered. "I live in an apartment that I can barely even call home anymore."

"I was in the guest entertainment room and I heard you and Sora fighting earlier." Kadaj looked at Riku to see his reaction.

"Sorry." Riku said. "That's how we've been lately."

"Do you two live together?" Kadaj asked.

Riku nodded. "Yeah we do. I don't like being home there either because of Sora. I don't wanna leave him, but it seems like he gets mad or whiny or something when I don't say 'I love you' back, or when I'm not home. Sometimes the only time _really _love him is when he's asleep." Riku admitted. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to tell you all that."

Kadaj shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He chuckled. "I've had my fair share of relationship issues too."

They sat in silence for a moment, and then remembered the cat from a few days ago. "Hey, do any of your friends have a cat?"

Riku smirked. "Yeah, that's Sora's cat. Her name is Autumn, and I'd advise you to stay away from her. She likes Sora, she loves food, and she adores hissing at _everything. _I've never really seen her take kindly to anyone except Sora or his twin brother, Roxas. Sora loves that cat so much, and I don't see why."

Kadaj smiled. If the cat was Sora's and it meant a lot to him… "So… Sora has a twin brother? Wouldn't that get confusing telling them apart?"

Riku shook his head and laughed. "No, they don't look alike. Well they do, but Roxas has blonde hair, and he's got a way different personality. If Sora was water, Roxas would be fire. And they _never _butt heads. That's something that surprises me."

"Sounds like me and my brothers. They're all calm, on top of everything, and I'm… not." Kadaj smirked. "They make battle plans, and they're patient. I'm not. When I see something I want, I go after it."

Riku raised an eyebrow, but instead of saying anything, settled down into the hot water and closed his eyes.

&!&!

Sora dialed Roxas's number with practiced fingers despite the fact that he was shaking. Whether he was shaking in anger or sadness, he wasn't sure, but all he wanted was to get ahold of Roxas. He needed his twin right now.

When Sora got Roxas's answering machine, he resisted the urge to chuck his phone at the wall. Where was Roxas when he really needed him?

"Roxas, it's me. You have to call me back. I might… come back home." Sora shut the phone, and watched it slide out from his hand and onto the bed.

That night was the second that Sora cried himself to sleep over Riku.

&!&!

Riku shivered. Despite the warmth of the hot tub, his exposed skin was getting chilly. "I'm going to get some shut-eye." He climbed out of the hot tub. "The big day's tomorrow," he said with mock excitement. "I get to dress up in a monkey suit and pretend that I give a damn about the company."

Kadaj climbed out of the tub as well. He put a hand on Riku's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about everything with Sora. It should work out."

Riku shrugged. "I'm not even sure if it will anymore."

Riku didn't notice the glint in Kadaj's eyes. Kadaj slapped him on the back affectionately.

"Well, then it wasn't mean to work out, was it?"

&!&!

Tidus leaned against the wall, looking out the window at Riku and Kadaj's exchange.

"That's odd. Riku doesn't normally take to people really quickly."

Tidus stared at moment longer, then shook his head.

"Damn it, I'm tired. I'm over thinking things…"

&!&!

Sora yawned, and blinked at the sunlight. He threw the covers off himself, and looked at the clock.

"Damn, noon?!" He flew out of bed and pulled on the first outfit that he managed to grab. He was out the door as soon as he was done brushing his teeth. He knocked on Tidus's door. No answer. He went to Wakka's. No answer.

"Crap…" He walked down the hallway, and when he reached the staircase he saw Sephiroth at the top, ordering people around.

Sephiroth felt his presence and looked over at him. "Morning Sora." His voice was cold, Sora noticed. Why?

"Morning. Ah, where is everyone?"

"They all went out on the boat."

Sora groaned quietly. "Okay, thanks."

"Sora?"

"Yeah?" Sora looked back at Sephiroth.

"Your shirt's on backwards. And inside out, if I'm correct."

Sora looked down, and his tag was sticking out at the neckline. "Thanks." He wearily trudged back to his room, and fell onto the bed face-first.

"Ugggggghhh…" he mumbled into the comforter. Autumn jumped on the bed, and started rubbing him affectionately.

"Hey fatty. How's life treating you on Destiny Islands?" He stroked her head, and she meowed in response.

"That bad, huh?" He asked. "Me too, Autumn. Me too."

&!&!

Wakka yanked the boat steering wheel to the left, and Tidus and Riku tumbled off their seats and onto the floor.

Riku jumped up. "Damn it, Wakka! Didn't you ever learn how to drive a boat?!"

Tidus shook the dizziness out of his head and stood up. "Wakka!" He lunged toward the front of the boat, eyeing something in front of them. "Wakka, there's a buoy dead ahead! _Turn the damn boat!"_

Wakka laughed like a maniac, and yanked the boat to the left, narrowly missing the buoy. Wakka set them on a straight path, and finally Riku and Tidus were able to stand without having to hold onto something for dear life.

Riku strode to the front of the boat. "Alright, you're crazy. Now give me the steering wheel before you capsize us."

Wakka stuck his tongue out playfully. "I'll take it easy from now on, ya."

Riku sighed, but let Wakka keep the wheel. "One more mess up, and I'm taking it, and I mean it."

Wakka gave a mock salute. "Yes ma'am!"

Riku clipped him in the head, then turned around, where Tidus was seated on the very back of the boat. Tidus waved Riku over.

Riku sat by him. "Wakka's insane. Remind me to never bring him back here again."

Tidus laughed. "Listen, I was wondering something."

"What?"

"What was with you and Kadaj in the hot tub? I mean, you've only known him for a few days, but you two seemed to be talking about something important."

Riku nodded. "Yeah. I got into a fight with Sora last night, and-"

"Wait, you and Sora got into a fight?"

Riku ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. "Yeah, we did."

"And that's why you didn't wake him up so he could come out on the boat with us."

Riku nodded gravely. "I needed time away from him."

Tidus raised an eyebrow. "You've had time away for the past few days. How much more did you need?"

Riku shrugged. "Apparently more. After the fight I left and went to the hot tub, and Kadaj showed up. Apparently he heard the whole fight."

"And?"

"I don't know. We talked. He was a pretty cool guy, y'know?" Riku shrugged. "He took my side of the argument, and we just ended up chilling in the hot tub."

Tidus shook his head. "Listen, Sora's my friend now, so all the comments that I've made in the copy room at work I take back. He's a nice kid, and you need to work things out with him."

Riku tilted his head to the side uncertainly. "Wow, this coming from you, of all people?"

Tidus rolled his eyes. "I know, I'm not the best boyfriend to Yuna. But maybe, just maybe, I'll change."

"Uh-huh."

"If she stops yelling at me the whole week that she's PMSing."

"And that, dear Tidus, is one reason that I'm glad I'm gay."

&!&!

Sora tightened the tie around his neck and scowled. He hated getting dressed up for events, and he _especially _didn't want to go to this one, but he didn't want to disrespect Sephiroth. The man already seemed to dislike him, and he didn't want to make it any worse. After all, he was dating his son.

But for how long?

He pulled on the suit jacket, and mused humorlessly about how he could forget a swimsuit, but remember a regular suit.

Tidus stuck his head through Sora's door and smiled. "Hey Sora, I need your help."

Sora waved him in. "Quick, before Autumn gets out. I _really _don't want to run around and catch her."

Tidus nodded and scuttled into the room. He had his suit on, but his tie was undone. "I've never tied a tie in my life."

Sora raised an eyebrow at him. "You work at the office, don't you? And you've _never _tied a tie?"

Tidus shrugged. "Yuna does it for me."

Sora shook his head and chuckled. "Sephiroth taught Riku to do this before he taught him to tie his _shoes." _Sora tied Tidus's tie with expert fingers, and pulled it into place. "And, um, of all colors, a royal purple tie?"

Tidus smirked. "Yeah, Yuna hates this tie…"

Sora rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I can't say I really blame her."

Sora turned around to the mirror again and buttoned up the jacket. He scowled at his reflection. He hated suits.

"Don't like what you see?" Tidus joked.

"I look stupid in suits."

Tidus faked an accent. "Well _I _think you look rather _dashing." _

Sora rolled his eyes at Tidus again.

Tidus took a seat. "So how have things been for you and Riku? You weren't on the boat today." Tidus had talked to Riku that morning about the same thing, but he wanted to get the story straight from Sora.

Sora sighed. "I didn't see him for like three days, and then we end up fighting. That's how it always seems lately. And when he didn't wake me up this morning to go on the boat… that was a little depressing. I just want to know what his problem is… what did I do for him to start questioning me all of a sudden?"

"If I knew, I would definitely tell you. I'm still trying to figure the guy out."

Sora chuckled humorlessly. "Well, I thought I had him figured out. Apparently I was wrong."

Tidus looked at his watch. "Sorry to randomly change the subject, but, the party's starting."

Sora groaned.

"I know, I know. I don't really want to go either. But just try and hang with us, okay? Riku's not such a complete drama queen that he'd ignore you through the whole party." Tidus stood up and elbowed Sora playfully. "Besides, I'm here. Hell, maybe we can start a food fight."

Sora laughed, and they both walked out the door, spirits a little bit higher.

&!&!

Riku downed his glass of champagne, then set it back on the butler's tray.

"Another one, sir?" The butler asked.

"Got anything stronger?"

"We have Destiny Islands Rum, Whiskey-"

"Whiskey's great."

"Right away."

Riku watched the butler walk away for a second, then looked back at Wakka, who was giving him a 'wtf' look.

"I don't think your dad will appreciate you getting wasted, ya."

Riku gave him an exasperated look. "I won't get wasted; I'll just be able to actually tolerate this."

Wakka chuckled, then looked up at the stairs. He elbowed Riku. "Tidus and Sora are coming."

Riku looked up at them, and resisted smiling. Sora had never worn a suit in his life- not even to prom- but it looked good on him. He looked back at Wakka.

"Even I have to admit that your boyfriend looks good in a suit, Riku." Wakka smiled at Riku, who held himself back from saying anything else.

He looked at the kitchen doors. "Where the hell is my whiskey…"

"Relax, ya. We _are _at a party."

"Wakka, this is hardly a party. It's a stupid business gathering where all they do is talk about stocks and other things that I don't understand even though I work at the damn company." The butler walked up with a glass of whiskey, and Riku snatched it off the plate with a mumbled 'thanks.'

Riku took a big swig of the whiskey, and smiled at the burn it made going down his throat. "Ahh, that's good."

"Hey Wakka. Hey alcoholic." Tidus appeared at Wakka's side with Sora right next to him. "What the hell are you drinking, Riku?"

"Whiskey." Riku mumbled in between sips.

Sora frowned, but kept his mouth shut.

Tidus pursed his lips, and thought the same thing as Sora. _Of all times to get drunk, why now?_

&!&!

Kadaj looked over the room with bored eyes. He was seated on a marble bench by the staircase, next to a prattling woman with bleached blonde hair. She was interested, he wasn't. And apparently yawning, rolling his eyes at her, and all around not paying attention didn't give her the hint. He stood up, and tried to walk away, but Bottle Blonde grabbed his hand.

She fluttered her eyelashes. "Where ya goin''?"

"I have to take a piss." He said bluntly.

She sighed dramatically. "Okay, well I'll be waiting here when you're done…"

"It's not likely I'm coming back," he said as he turned around and walked up the steps. He headed left into the guest wing, and strolled down the hallway, deciding what to do.

He heard something faint over the bustle of the party, and realized it was the same scratching that was from before. "Hmm, that's gotta be Sora's cat…" He opened the door, and just like last time, the cat backtracked and hissed.

He went into the room, and squatted down eye level with the cat. "Here, kitty…"

She hissed.

"Well you're just a royal bitch, aren't you?" Kadaj stood up.

He walked over to the slider door, and noticed that it was bolted shut. He smirked, and then looked at the cat. "Well you must be miserable. You're not allowed out, are ya?" He unbolted the slider, and Autumn came running. She sat at Kadaj's feet and looked up at him expectantly. He opened the door about an inch, and she attempted to fit her head through, but it didn't fit.

Kadaj chuckled, and opened the glass door and the screen door all the way. Autumn rocketed out, and down the balcony stairs.

Kadaj shut the glass door.

"Oops."

&!&!

For about a half an hour, Tidus, Wakka, Riku, and Sora stood in their circle. A few times people came up to shake hands with Riku, but quickly left. The whole time Wakka and Tidus were making conversation, but Riku and Sora was quiet. Riku was also drinking the whole time.

Tidus gave Riku a scolding look. "Seriously, Riku. You reek of whiskey. You need to stop drinking before you end up dancing on a table naked."

Riku shrugged. "It would make the party livelier, would it not?"

Sora's fuming was almost visible. "Alright, I need to get out of here. I'll be up in my room." He shoved his way through the crowd, disgusted with Riku, bored of this party, and _really _needing to talk to his brother. He took the steps two at a time, and didn't stop running down the hallway until he was face-first onto his bed. He punched the bed a couple times. When he was done, he flipped over and pulled his phone out of his pocket. There were no missed calls. Did Roxas even get his other call last night?

Sora flipped it open, and dialed Roxas. After two rings, Axel answered. _"Hell-ooooo. You've called at a slightly bad time, Sor."_

"I don't care! Let me talk to my damn brother!"

"_Hun, it's for you," _Axel quickly handed the phone to Roxas.

"_What's up, Sora?" _

"I tried calling you last night, where the hell were you?! Holy crap Roxas, I've been having a _terrible _past few days, and, and Riku's being a dick again…" Sora took a few deep breaths, knowing he was on the edge of hysterics. He didn't want to take it all out on Roxas.

"_I's sorry Sora, I didn't know that you called last night. My phone didn't say anything." _Sora heard some shuffling. _"Dammit, Axel, get off me. Anyway, back to Riku. What's he doing now?" _

Sora sat up and slouched. "Gimme one second, I wanna find Autumn. She's probably hungry anyway, she hasn't eaten since this morning." He got up and sulked over to the suitcase full of food, and opened a can. "Auutumnnnnn…" He clicked his tongue. "Come here baby girl…" He was surprised when she didn't come barreling at him. "Autumn? You're not going anorexic on me now, are you?"

"_What's going on?" _Roxas asked.

"I can't find her. When I open a can of food, she comes right over…" Sora bent over and looked under the bed. When she wasn't there, he looked in the bathroom. She wasn't there either. He checked under every piece of furniture, and sighed desperately when she wasn't anywhere. "Roxas, she's not here!"

"_What do you mean? Did you let her out?"_

"No way! We're on Destiny Islands, she'd have no idea where to go! And I'm sure that Sephiroth told all the maids that the slider wasn't supposed to be opened at all!" Sora looked over at the slider, and nearly dropped the phone when he saw that the screen was open. "Someone let her out, Roxas," He said quietly.

"_Are you sure?" _

"I'm positive. The whole time I've been here, the glass door _and _the screen door have been shut. The screen's all the way open, Rox."

"_Oh. Shit."_

"What should I do?"

"_Uh, go find her. Bring some food, I'm sure she'll come running right away."_

Sora nodded. _"_Alright." Sora shut his phone, and walked toward the slider, but paused. He took one look at his overflowing suitcase, and sighed. He quickly gathered up all his things and put them away. He carried everything out on the balcony and set them by the door. He was absolutely sure that after he found Autumn, he wasn't staying here any longer. He was going home. Then he was going to pack everything there and move in with Roxas.

But first things first, he had to tell Riku that Autumn was missing.

&!&!

The butler came over with yet another glass of whiskey. Riku reached for it, but Tidus slapped his hand away.

"That's disgusting Riku, quit drinking."

Riku rolled his eyes lazily. "Why?"

"Because, you're at a company party! I don't think your dad will appreciate it if you get wasted! We've been over this, Riku!"

"Oh really? I don't remember…"

Tidus groaned, but quickly put a smile on his face when he saw Sora approaching. "Hey Sora. Ready to rejoin the party?" He looked down and noticed that he was holding a can of cat food. "Interesting appetizer, you got there."

"My cat's missing."

Riku gave him a lazy look. "Autumn? Good riddance."

Sora puckered his lips for a minute, but held himself back from snapping. "I'm going out to look for her; someone let her off my balcony."

Riku burped. "Why? It's warm here, she'll be fine. And Kingdom Hearts knows you'll pay less for food if you don't have her."

Sora looked at Tidus and Wakka. "Can you two help me find her?" He paused. "Please?"

Tidus nodded. "I'll help. Wakka, you stay with Riku, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Definitely make sure that he doesn't drink anymore."

Wakka mock saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Tidus glared at him. "You're really sarcastic today, you know that?" He walked out of the room with Sora. They took off into the night, both going separate ways to look for Autumn.

&!&!

When Kadaj saw Sora leave with Tidus, he approached Wakka and Riku. "Hey."

Wakka nodded at him. "Kadaj."

"Kadaj! Hi." Riku smiled and shook his hand excitedly. "Good to see ya! Want some whiskey?"

Kadaj raised an eyebrow at him. "Riku, are you drunk?"

"No."

"I'm pretty sure you are."

"No, I'm not. I'm mildly buzzed,"

Kadaj waved it off. "Whatever. You want to get some air? This place is stuffy," He asked both Wakka and Riku.

Wakka shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll stay here. Unlike Mr. Boss's Son here, I really do care about my job, ya."

Kadaj nodded. "Riku?"

"Suuure. Why not. We should bring more whiskey."

Wakka looked pointedly at Kadaj. "Tidus cut him off, so don't let him have anymore, kay?"

Kadaj smiled and nodded. "I'll make sure to do that." He looked at Riku and waved him along. "Let's go out to a balcony Riku, you'll love the sunset if you haven't gotten a chance to see it yet." Riku followed him through the crowd and up the stairs, talking nonstop about the whiskey he wanted. Kadaj ignored him, figuring that was better than telling him no. He didn't know what kind of drunk Riku was, but from what he'd been hearing, Riku seemed like a stupid, complaining drunk. It was starting to get on his nerves, but he knew that Riku'd be over it soon.

Kadaj turned the knob of Sora's room and opened the door. He noted with mild surprise that the room was cleaner than it was when he let Autumn out. He stopped for a minute, and was actually surprised when he didn't see Sora's suitcases anywhere.

Had the boy left?

Kadaj smirked and kept his thoughts to himself. There was a tiny chance that Riku, being so drunk, would even notice. And he wasn't going to bring it up. Why would he ever do that, when it was what he wanted?

"This is Sora's room." Riku stated the obvious.

"Yeah, he's got the best balcony. This was Yazoo's room before you guys came. He was _always _bragging about his balcony. And… no one really cared." He laughed softly, and then opened the glass slider door. The both walked out on the balcony, and Riku whistled at the sunset.

"Damn."

Kadaj nodded. "Awesome, isn't it?"

They settled comfortably on the chairs on the balcony, and as Riku sobered up, they began to make conversation.

&!&!

Tidus took a seat on the park bench, panting. He thought that he'd seen her, but it was just another cat, and he wasted five minutes chasing it. He sprawled out, exhausted from the hour-long search for Autumn.

&!&!

Sora leaned against the street lamp, crestfallen. He did one last half-hearted whistle for Autumn, and wasn't surprised when she didn't come. He'd already been searching for hours, and Tidus would've gone back to the house by now.

Sora wiped a stray tear from his eye when he realized he wasn't going to find her. But, this was an island. She'd turn up eventually, and she didn't like water, so she'd probably stay away from the beaches and pools.

He'd just search tomorrow, and maybe everybody would help, because there wouldn't be that stupid party, and Riku wouldn't be drunk.

Possibly.

He never knew these days.

&!&!

Sora didn't feel like going through the main door with his disheveled appearance, so he headed around the house to his balcony. He faltered when he thought he heard voices up there, and continued quietly to see who was up there.

&!&!

Riku had sobered up a lot in the hours that Sora had been gone. He could now think straight, and now that he could think straight he was fully aware of everything that happened between him and Sora in the last day. And since Kadaj was there (he was an awesome listener) he started ranting.

"He's always complaining about how late I'm out, or how I smell like booze, or getting sad because I didn't say 'I love you' back…"

Kadaj chuckled. "That's why I don't say it in the first place. Because once you commit, then crap like what you're going through happens, then the shit hits the fan."

Riku groaned. "I know, I know. And, Sora doesn't know this, but a month or so ago, I cheated on him."

Neither Kadaj nor Riku noticed Sora quietly climbing the stairs, or the way he almost fell down them when he heard Riku's confession. He was about to cry out, but remained quiet.

Kadaj hummed approvingly. "I don't blame you." Kadaj got out of his chair and sauntered over to Riku's. "Did you like the feeling of cheating on him?"

Riku didn't notice Kadaj hovering over him. "Yeah, it was the best damn sex that I've had in months."

Kadaj chuckled. "Is that so?" Kadaj noticed that Riku still didn't see him, and decided to make his move. He threw a leg around Riku and straddled him, causing the silveret's eyes widen.

"Kadaj what the fu-"

Kadaj placed a finger on Riku's lips. "Shut up." He bent down and began to fiercely kiss Riku, who melted into it and kissed back.

From his perch on the steps, Sora froze. He was so shocked, he didn't move a muscle. It was disgusting and horrifying for him to _hear _that his boyfriend's cheated on him before… but to actually see it? He couldn't move.

Tidus trudged up to the bottom of the steps. "Sora! There you are…" He stopped when Sora wasn't responding or moving. He climbed up the steps, eyes trained on the brunet. "Did u find her?"

Sora pointed a shaky finger at Kadaj and Riku.

Tidus followed his point, and clenched his fists at the sight. Anger boiled in him, causing an outburst. "What the _fuck?! _Riku, what the _hell _do you think you're _doing_?!"

Riku pulled away from the kiss, and looked at them with half-lidded eyes. When he realized Sora was there, he snapped out of it and shoved Kadaj off him violently. "Sora! Tidus!" He ran his fingers through his hair and fought for something to say. "I… didn't know you were there…" He commented lamely.

Tidus pushed past Sora and got up in Riku's face. Tidus wasn't a big guy, but he knew how to use his fists when he was pissed. He threw a punch and Riku right on the eye; Riku stumbled backward, holding his face. "You _bastard._" He spat on Riku.

He whipped around for Kadaj. "That goes for you, too. Who the _fuck _do you think you are?" He made his way toward Kadaj, who changed to a defensive stance.

"What, you're going to pick a fight with me? I was only kissing him because his _boyfriend," _He jabbed a thumb in Sora's direction, "doesn't know how to keep him happy." He sneered at Sora, his attention altered from Tidus. "I was merely making him happy again, you whiny little prick." All of his attention was on Sora now, and he didn't see Tidus coming. Tidus swung his foot around and kicked Kadaj in the gut, causing him to double over.

Tidus spat on Kadaj too. "Don't get back up, bitch."

Sora's voice was a whisper. "Tidus?"

Tidus maneuvered his way around the two moaning guys. "What is it, Sora?"

"I wanna go home."

Tidus hugged Sora. "I do too. I have a funny feeling that I'm going to lose my job as well."

* * *

_A/N: _Please Review!


	4. Mend

**So, we've arrived at the last part of the story. It makes me a little sad, but this one was a doozy to write sometimes. I think I'll stick to humor, which is easier for me to write than drama. This was a challenge, but it was awesome all the same. Wanna know what else is awesome? All you AWESOME reviewers! You guys are amazing, along with you story alert-ers! Now, enjoy Part 4, Mend.**

**Disclaimer: Meow, Rrrroooow, hisss, glare. (In Autumn's language that means I don't own anything!)**

**Part 4 of 4:**

**Mend**

Riku stood in the double doors of the foyer, watching intently on the activity in the driveway. He watched the chauffer take Sora's and Tidus's luggage and put it in the trunk, and he watched Sora get into the limo, Tidus behind him.

He watched the limo drive away.

He didn't know how long he stood there, but a hand placed on his shoulder snapped him out of his trance. He glanced to the side to see Kadaj.

"What now, Riku?"

Riku shrugged. He didn't know what was next, and he felt strangely detached. He closed the front doors, cutting off his view of the moon and the stars.

&!&!

Sora and Tidus sat in the limo quietly, not bouncing around like they did barely a week before. The air was grave, and Tidus bit his lip anxiously, wanting to say something. But there wasn't anything to say in this situation. Even he couldn't believe Riku's actions. Even though his knuckles were slightly bruised, that punch on Riku's eye had felt so good. He ran his fingers over his knuckles gently. He half smirked, knowing that Riku'd have that bruise for awhile. He needed something to mar his pretty face, anyway.

After the silent ride, preparing to board the Gummi Ship and waiting in line for tickets was just as quiet. When Sora purchased his, his voice was a whisper and he had to repeat things a couple times over before the receptionist could figure out what he was trying to say. Tidus quickly purchased his tickets, and they walked briskly toward their gate and boarded the Gummi Ship. They sat next to each other toward the back of the plane. The plane was nearly empty, with exceptions of a few other families. Most people were heading _toward _the warmth of Destiny Islands, rather than _from _it.

Tidus opened his mouth to say something comforting to Sora, but he couldn't think of anything. Comfort wasn't really ever his specialty. After a little while of trying to work out things in his brain, he settled for silence. He thought that Sora would prefer it that way, anyway.

The trip home was a long one.

&!&!

Roxas and Axel held hands in the Gummi port, supporting each other. Axel was mad as hell at Riku, but pushed it to the back of his mind right now because Sora was more important. Roxas was just worried beyond belief, and couldn't stop fidgeting.

Over the intercom Sora's ship was announced to have arrived, and they dropped hands. There was no point in upsetting Sora over the little things.

A few minutes later they met Sora at baggage claim, and he was looking terrible. His eyes were dull and he dragged his feet, a complete 180 from how he usually was. Tidus hovered around Sora protectively, and even lifted Sora's bag off the conveyor when it came by as well as his own.

Axel and Roxas approached, and immediately Roxas gathered his brother into a hug. Axel took both of Sora's bags and slung the carry-on over his shoulder. He glanced at Tidus and gave him a nod of thanks. Tidus returned it.

Axel looked at Sora. "Let's go, kiddo."

&!&!

On the way back to Roxas and Axel's apartment they stopped at Sora's favorite fast food restaurant and they were overjoyed to see that it made Sora happier, even if the difference was miniscule. Roxas always knew that the right food could cheer Sora up. It never failed.

Axel babbled on the way back to the apartment, trying to make conversation to distract Sora. His attempts worked a little better than Tidus's, and Axel never gave up on him. Roxas was even in on it, asking Sora questions, like "Don't you think it would be cool if Axel and I got a puppy, Sora?" "What do you want for dinner later tonight, Sora?" "You can sleep on the bed with me tonight, Sora. We'll make Axel and his lanky ass sleep on the lumpy couch. Sound good?"

The last question earned a giggle from Sora, which Axel and Roxas saw as a triumphant victory. They arrived at the apartment, and Axel toted all the bags in, while Roxas babbled to Sora about their new video game. Axel smirked. He knew what they'd be doing for the rest of the night.

&!&!

_**Sora**_

&!&!

For the next week, Sora and Roxas made regular trips between Riku's apartment and Roxas's. Sora owned the majority of the stuff there, and Roxas's car was tiny so they could only take a small amount of possessions with them. Roxas was mostly astonished by the amount of cat toys Sora had, and Sora insisted on taking them because he was positive that Autumn would show up eventually, and he wanted to be ready for her when she did. On the last day that Sora would need to take a trip to the apartment, Sora wanted to go alone so he was dropped off by Axel and Roxas, with a promise for them to return to him in an hour. Sora numbly fingered the keys in his hand that he'd used so long, coming and going through the doors of the apartment that he'd lived in so long.

It sure was going to be different staying somewhere else. He'd already gotten a job and started a savings account so he didn't have to mooch off Axel and Roxas for the rest of his life. He planned on saving all the money he got (he got a job at the place where he bought all of Autumn's food) and putting it toward a one bedroom apartment of his own.

He glanced at the couple of boxes that wouldn't fit in the car the day before. He set the keys on the counter, and for a minute the thought of writing a note crossed his mind. But he pushed it aside- Riku didn't deserve a note.

He gave the keys one last glace, and made sure to grab a package of Pop-tarts for the road. He stacked the light boxes on top of one another in his arms, then he shut the apartment door behind him. He was about to walk down the stairs, but stopped, and looked at the door across the hall. He hadn't talked to the neighbor in forever… and the little old lady was so sweet. He sighed, and knocked on the door.

The old lady grasped her hands together and smiled at the sight of him. "Sora! Come in son, come in!"

Sora went it and set his boxes down, ready to spend a few minutes with the woman. The thought of leaving without saying bye to her hurt more than the thought of leaving without saying bye to Riku.

How sad.

&!&!

_**Riku**_

&!&!

When Sora left, at first Riku didn't know what to think. His initial reaction was, '_Oh, he'll come back. He always does.' _He waited an hour.

No Sora.

A day.

Still no Sora.

Over the week he slowly realized that Sora wasn't coming back. And that thought made him numb. The numbness got worse and worse as the days went on, but no one would understand. He could try talking to Wakka about it, but all Wakka wanted to talk about was beaches, so that conversation would get off track quickly. He couldn't talk to his dad, of course. His dad was only available for business advice (as if he ever cared enough about the business to want that). There was always Kadaj…

No. That would probably work about as well as talking to his dad about relationship advice.

So that left no one. And he couldn't show his feelings, because then he would have to explain. And he didn't want to.

The black eye Tidus gave him slowly faded, and a week later it was just a shadow under his eye, but a constant reminder of what a dickbag he felt like. Sometimes he'd poke at it, knowing that it would throb. He deserved much worse than a throbbing eye.

For the first time the whole week that Sora was missing, Riku went into Sora's room. Riku looked at the neatness of Sora's old room, not surprised. Sora was always neat.

Riku snorted. Except when it came to the coffee table. Sora threw everything onto the coffee table, especially Pop-tart wrappers.

Sora, however, had left a cat carrier on the bed, along with Autumn's suitcase of food. Riku felt a pang in his heart, and felt even more like a dickbag. He hadn't even thought about Autumn in the past week. However, if he found her, he knew that the first thing he would do would be to take her back to Sora. There was no way _he _was keeping her, when she didn't even like him. She was going straight back to her rightful owner.

And maybe- just maybe- he'd say sorry. He felt completely sorry, but putting it into words would be the hard part. He tossed himself onto the comfortable bed, and closed his eyes. He thought back to the events of when Sora was staying here. The same events that led up to Sora leaving.

_Neither of them heard the stomps down the hallway, and neither of them heard Sora's door creak open. _

"_Riku." _

_Riku's eyes jerked awake, knowing who the voice belonged to. He sat up, and saw his dad standing in the doorway, looking at Sora and Riku with disapproval and disgust. _

"_Breakfast's ready." He spat. Sephiroth walked away, not bothering to shut the door._

_Riku looked down at Sora, who was sleeping peacefully. Riku was glad that Sora didn't witness his father coming in. _

_Riku sighed, and lay back down on the bed. His father wasn't going to look at him the same now._

His dad hadn't looked happy until Sora was gone. Unwillingly, the night that Sora left crept to the front of his mind.

"_What the fuck?! Riku, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" _

_Riku pulled away from the kiss, and looked at them with half-lidded eyes. When he realized Sora was there, he snapped out of it and shoved Kadaj off him violently. "Sora! Tidus!" He ran his fingers through his hair and fought for something to say. "I… didn't know you were there…" He commented lamely._

_Tidus pushed past Sora and got up in Riku's face. Tidus wasn't a big guy, but he knew how to use his fists when he was pissed. He threw a punch and Riku right on the eye; Riku stumbled backward, holding his face. "You bastard." He spat on Riku._

_He whipped around for Kadaj. "That goes for you, too. Who the fuck do you think you are?" He made his way toward Kadaj, who changed to a defensive stance._

"_What, you're going to pick a fight with me? I was only kissing him because his boyfriend," He jabbed a thumb in Sora's direction, "doesn't know how to keep him happy." He sneered at Sora, his attention altered from Tidus. "I was merely making him happy again, you whiny little prick." All of his attention was on Sora now, and he didn't see Tidus coming. Tidus swung his foot around and kicked Kadaj in the gut, causing him to double over. _

_Tidus spat on Kadaj too. "Don't get back up, bitch."_

Riku rested his hands on his face in shame. He couldn't believe that he'd done that; he didn't have the excuse of being drunk- he was almost completely sober by then. Sober enough to think straight.

And if that wasn't enough, he let himself fall again to Kadaj's seductions again just the day before.

_Riku idly tossed darts at the board, not really aiming, but not doing too terribly. He threw his last dart at the board, and walked toward it emotionlessly. He pulled them out of the cork, and then walked back to his spot to start throwing them again. _

_He didn't even notice Kadaj standing in the throwing spot._

"_You're looking pretty down, Riku."_

_Riku shrugged, and set the darts back onto the dartboard. He already knew that with Kadaj here, there was no way he was getting anything done. "Distracted, I guess."_

_Kadaj walked around Riku and wrapped his arms around Riku's waist. His head went to rest on his shoulder. "How bout we work on that then?" Kadaj's lips met Riku's neck and Kadaj began to gently suck and nip at the sensitive skin. Kadaj slowly led Riku to the couch, and laid him down there. Kadaj straddled Riku, and kissed him fiercely. Riku's mind clouded over with lust. Not long after that, clothes flew off, and Riku couldn't even think anymore. He was distracted- way too distracted._

Riku shuddered thinking about what he did. Kadaj had a way of bringing things like that out of people.

"_MRRRROOOOOWWWWWWW!" _

Riku jumped off the bed in fright, and whipped his body so it was facing the slider door.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw a _very _pissed, _very _dirty Autumn. She was batting at the door, and glaring at him. He hurdled over the bed and threw open the slider, and began hyperventilating as she sauntered into the room and onto the bed. She plopped her butt down by the suitcase and gave him a glare.

His fingers fumbled while trying to open the suitcase and then a can of food.

"Baby girl, where have you been this whole time?! I've got no doubt that Sora's been so worried about you!" Riku stroked her while she wolfed down her food.

"Baby, you're skinny…" Riku could feel her ribs, then a thought crossed his mind. "Damn it Autumn, you were never fixed, you better not be pregnant…" he shook his head at the thought. Autumn's not sociable, so it wasn't likely that she'd let a cat _hump _her.

So, no evil baby kittens.

She was soon done with her food, and Riku cuddled her. "First things first, you need a bath…"

He washed her up, avoiding her claws when she decided she didn't like the water on her fur. Other than a few lash outs, she did pretty well with the bath. He dried her off, and couldn't resist the urge to laugh out loud because she looked like a wet, unhappy rat. He fluffed out her fur, then fashioned a mohawk on her head.

Riku stopped giving her random hairstyles when there was a knock on the door.

"Riku?"

It was Kadaj.

"Yeah?"

"Are you taking a shower?"

Riku got up, Autumn in arm, and opened the door. "No."

Kadaj pouted. "Aww, I wanted to join. I-" He noticed the wet cat in Riku's arms. "Who's that?"

"Autumn… Sora's cat."

Kadaj remembered after a moment. "Oh, I remember. That's the cat I let out at the company party last week." He reached forward to pet her but she hissed at him. "Well, aren't you the bitch?"

Riku took a step back so he wouldn't reach out at her again. "What do you mean, you let her out at the party last week?"

Kadaj folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I let her out because I wanted to be alone with you, and I knew that he would go right after her if she was gone." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Can you blame me?" He reached forward to grab Riku's hip, but Riku took a step back.

"That was you?" He subconsciously cuddled Autumn closer. "You're the one who did that?"

Kadaj nodded. "Does that surprise you?" He took a step closer, cornering Riku in the bathroom. "I told you, when I want something, I go after it. I make battle plans. And this little beauty was- so to speak- the atomic bomb."

Riku stroked her behind the ears and she purred. He felt like punching Kadaj, but held himself back because he didn't want to drop Autumn. He was afraid of her taking off again now that she was safe in his arms. "She's been an inside cat all her life, and you let her out? Let alone in a place that she doesn't even know?" He face was getting a reddish tinge from anger.

Kadaj tipped his head slightly to the side. "Why are you angry? I succeeded in getting rid of Sora."

"And you also broke his heart twice. Get the fuck out of my way." Riku walked toward the door, but Kadaj blocked it.

"Don't tell me you're running back to him. You've been complained about fighting with him, and now you're going _back? _I had no idea you were such a pussy, Riku. That kid's got you by the balls, apparently." Kadaj's stance was firm in front of the door.

Riku pushed past him violently, causing Kadaj to lose his footing and stumble. "I'm not a pussy, I just… love him. And I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize that." Riku walked to the bed, and shoved Autumn in her carrier. He ignored Kadaj, who was complaining in his ear.

He picked up the suitcase, and with one last glare Kadaj's way, he left. All there was left to do was grab his luggage and go to the airport.

And then, home.

&!&!

The whole ride back, Riku was fidgety. He read through the crappy magazines provided for the flight to try and distract himself, but that barely succeeded.

When he got to the gummiport, he was quick to get his luggage and to get Autumn. He hailed a taxi, then took off for home.

He just hoped that Sora would be there.

&!&!

He dropped his suitcases at the door, and fumbled to unlock the door. It flew open…

and the apartment was practically empty. He stepped in, and hung his keys on the key rack. He gently set Autumn onto the floor, and walked through the apartment, looking at all the missing things.

Sora's things. The dresser was empty, and the medicine cabinet looked sparse with only Riku's things in it. The decorations around the apartment were gone, and Riku noticed that some of the pictures were too. Sora's favorite ones. He walked back out into the kitchen, where Autumn was meowing furiously in her cage, wanting to be let out. He ignored her when he spotted a sliver glint from the counter.

Keys. Not just keys, Sora's keys. He lifted them up and stuffed them into his pocket, fighting back tears. It was too late, he'd missed Sora. He'd already packed up everything… that meant that he'd already taken Riku out of his life.

There was one other place that Sora could be, but Riku wasn't sure if he was welcome there. Actually, he knew that he most definitely was NOT welcome there. He walked, downcast, over to the door, and was about to shut it, but saw his neighbor's door creak open. He paused for a moment, but he knew it was just the little old lady that lived there. Sora really liked her. He shook his head and started pushing the door shut again.

"Riku?"

He paused. That wasn't the little old lady. He threw the door open, and was shocked, but overwhelmingly happy.

"Sora?"

Sora nodded. "What are you doing back already?" Sora was holding a couple of boxes. Riku rushed over to take them from him.

Riku brought the light boxes back into the apartment and put them next to Autumn's cage. "Why don't you come in and see?"

Sora stood still by the old lady's door. "I don't know if I should…"

A meow pierced the air, and all of a sudden Sora couldn't get in the apartment quick enough. He knelt down by the cage and opened the latch with expert hands. He scooped up Autumn and began to cuddle her, silently crying with happiness. "Ohh, Autumn baby, you're back!" He kissed her head a few times. "Oh, and you've had a bath! But you're so skinny…"

Riku stood there in silence, smiling slightly at the scene. "She came running back to your slider door earlier today, and I got here as soon as possible. I knew you'd want her back…"

"Well, thanks then. Roxas is going to be here soon, so…" Sora tried to pick up everything while still juggling Autumn, but the boxes balanced on one arm began to wobble. Riku rushed forward to help him again.

"I got it." Axel rushed forward from the door and snatched the boxes from Riku. "You can go now."

"This is my apartment," Riku retorted.

Roxas set himself by Sora, and glared at Riku. "Then go somewhere else, we got this covered."

Sora looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say at the awkward silence.

"Sora,"

"Just go," Sora whispered.

Riku nodded curtly, and walked into the bedroom.

Roxas looked at the bundle in Sora's arms. "I see you got Autumn back." He smiled at her, and scratched under her chin. She purred. "You don't look as fat, hun. You gunna stay skinny from now on?" He clapped his hands together. "Okay, Ax, you take those boxes you're holding out to the car-"

"I figured as much, since I'm holding them and all."

"Don't sass me," Roxas retorted. "Sora, all you have to do is carry Autumn, and what's in this suitcase?" He pointed toward black on the on the floor.

"That's Riku's," Sora explained, then motioned toward a dark green one by Autumn's carrier. "The green one is full of her food, so we need that one."

Roxas nodded, and pulled out the handle of the suitcase. "Alright, I'll take her food and carrier, you take the cat. Since we've got all that settled… good riddance, apartment. Let's skedaddle." He ushered Axel out the door. "Come on love, walk a little faster," he prodded Axel and hit him in the butt with the cat cage.

Axel looked over his shoulder and playfully glared at him. He noticed that Sora still hadn't moved. "Sor, are you coming?"

Sora snapped out of his trance. "Yeah, yeah, I am. Let's go."

Axel walked out the door, and Roxas followed closely. When Sora was almost through the doorframe, he heard a door squeak open behind him.

"Sora." It wasn't a question.

Sora looked over his shoulder at Riku, who was now out of the bedroom. "Bye."

"Sora wait here for one second, please. I can't let you walk out that door without at least saying something to you."

Sora adjusted Autumn in his arms. "I don't think you really have to say anything, your actions spoke pretty clearly on Destiny Islands."

"Sora, please, just listen to me for a second." Riku took a few steps closer to him, then glanced at Roxas and Axel. "Can I please just talk to him for a second? Alone?"

Axel shook his head. "If you want to say something, then say it in front of us, too. And don't you dare take _one _more step closer to him."

"Fine." Riku rooted himself to the spot. "Alright, Sora, I'm sorry. I'm very, very, undeniably sorry. I can't even make the excuse that I was drunk when we kissed because you and I both know that I wasn't." Roxas snorted, but Riku ignored him.

Riku took a step forward, and Axel glared at him. "I told you not to move, now if you wanna continue talking to him, stay put!"

Riku nodded at him. "As I was saying. He kissed _me, _not the other way around."

"Yet you didn't do anything to stop him, knowing full well that you had a boyfriend." Sora cut in.

Riku sighed dramatically. "I know, I know. And I'm sorry."

"You said that already."

Riku bit his lip to keep from snapping back at Sora. Sora deserved to be mean to him for once. "Sora I don't want you to leave me."

"It doesn't really matter what you want, Riku. I'm leaving because I actually deserve a boyfriend who's going to care about me 24/7. _Not _just when he's upset and drunk." Sora's voice remained level, but anyone could tell that he was mad. "Now, I'm _leaving. Goodbye." _

"Wait!" Riku ran forward a few steps, and Axel dropped the boxes and appeared in front of Sora before Riku could get too close.

"Now, I told you to stay in the same spot! If you take _one more _step toward him, Kingdom Hearts help you, I will kick your ass in your own home. Now _back up." _

Riku took a few steps backwards.

"That's better." Axel narrowed his eyes. "Now stay there until we're out of sight of this damned building." He grabbed the boxes, and ushered Sora out the door, staying behind him.

The door shut with of a sense of finality.

Riku stood there for a moment, arguing with himself. Was he supposed to just stand there and let him walk away, or was he supposed to go after him?

He knew what he wanted to do, but he was damn sure that Axel and Roxas would rip him apart before he even got close.

But he also knew that he couldn't just stand there. He had to give it one last try.

&!&!

Axel stayed protectively behind Sora the whole walk to the car. Roxas kept shooting looks brimming with hatred at the building door, as if _daring _Riku to do something as stupid as to come back out. They were quick to load up the car because rain was starting to come down quickly.

They heard the building door slam open, and Axel began to grumble. "If that son of a bitch _hasn't _learned yet…" All three of them twirled around and guarded their faces from the pelting rain as Riku sprinted toward them.

Axel stomped forward, but Sora put his hand out and stopped him. "Ax, thanks for everything, but I can take care of this one."

Axel's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure, Sora?"

He nodded, then started walking toward Riku, whose sprint had slowed down to a walk. "Riku, I told you, I'm-"

Riku shut Sora up with a kiss, and Roxas and Axel protested loudly.

At first, Sora melted into it, but his senses returned a moment later. He pushed Riku off with all his might. "_Riku! _A kiss isn't going to fix everything, and it's not going to make me come back!" Sora took a step back from him. "I can't believe you'd even think I'd come running right back after just a _kiss."_

Riku breathed deeply, and gathered himself for a moment. "I know, I know. I just felt like I owed you that, whether or not you decided you wanted to come back or not. I've barely kissed you in the past few months, so I hope that made up for it." He crossed his arms pitifully. "Now, you can go ahead and leave." He turned to walk away, and stopped. "But, I do want you back, just know that." He started walking.

Sora watched him go for a moment. "Promise me."

His back was facing Sora, so Sora didn't see his grin. He turned around. "Promise you what, babe?"

Sora sighed at face-palmed himself. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered to himself. He lifted his head up and looked at Riku. "Promise me that you're going to be faithful to me. Promise that you're actually going to love me, and spend time with me." He paused and added another thought, "And dammit promise me that when I want to have sex, we'll have sex!"

Riku rushed forward and pulled him into a suffocating hug, and began kissing his face. "I promise baby, I promise. We can go right now if you want to, that sound okay?"

Sora laughed. "Nice try, but not now. But can we at least get inside? It's wet out here, and I don't think Autumn appreciates being stuck in the car."

Riku nodded vigorously, sending water droplets flying everywhere. "Let's go."

Axel and Roxas stood together, dumbfounded.

Roxas crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Damn it Sora, I trust your judgment, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to trust _him." _

Axel put his arm around Roxas. "I'm with blondie here. And what about your stuff? It's all at our place."

Riku was quick to think of a solution. "Leave it there. We're moving out of here, and getting a bigger apartment."

Sora looked up at him with surprise. "What?"

Riku smiled. "You heard me. I don't want to stay here in an apartment with barely any room to move and bad memories. So we're gunna move. We'll start looking tomorrow, since our lease is almost up anyway."

Roxas couldn't help but smile at Riku. "Well, nice recovery there. We'll take these few boxes, but you take your cat, deal? See if you can get an apartment as soon as possible because Sora's got a lot of shit and it's taking up our _whole _spare bedroom."

Sora stuck his tongue out. "It's not like you need that room anyway, not unless Axel's pregnant."

Axel shot Sora a mocking glare, then pulled Roxas tighter into him. "Alright, well let's all get going because it's freakin' pouring buckets out here. Now take your fat, evil cat."

Sora walked over to the car and pulled her out. "She's not evil…" he cooed at the cat. "And for the record, she's not fat either."

She was, however, pissed off about the rain.

Riku grabbed her carrier and the suitcase of food out from the car. Everyone said their goodbyes, and Axel and Roxas made sure to deliver Riku a threat if he was ever to hurt Sora again.

He laughed at that. There was no way he was going to hurt Sora again, not after all the promises he made,

and meant.

**&!&!**

**Thanks again to everyone that has or is about to review!**


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